xXThese are XxVincent ValentinexX Cruel WorldsXx
by heishi-rozu-chan
Summary: Remi Santoni is an immortal girl who has a disasterous past that has been following her throughout her existence. One day, she tries to shake it off, & it turns deadly. Rated T for language/violence.
1. Chapter 1

_I walked into the empty classroom noisily & sloppily dumped my backpack on the floor next to the seat I normally take on these Wednesdays after school in room 307. I collapsed into the chair & struggled out of my heavy, black & blue winter coat. My god, does this coat annoy the crap out of me. Not only is it too hot, but it's ugly as shit, too. I hate winter, so much. It's so cold, & it brings my most hated holidays. Christmas is so stupid. I don't even believe in god! I'm a strong believer that we evolved from monkeys, which evolved from plants, which evolved from cells, which make up the earth. Hell yes._

_My name is Remi Santoni, & I'm 2/4 vampire, ¼ shapeshifter, & ¼ fallen angel. I' m also 1/4 Irish & 3/4 Japanese, too. Odd mixture, isn't it? But I am what I am, right?_

_Of course, none of you humans know this. You don't know that vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, & any other mythical crap you guys believe is fake, is indeed real. You don't know that there are more worlds than just you out there that exist with other…beings living on them, either. Hell, most of you guys don't even know what your computer is made of! (Of course, some of you geeks do, but most of you do not.)_

_The world I am from is called 'Mikomi', which actually means 'hope' in Japanese, which is ironic, because Mikomi is just the opposite of its meaning. It is a lot like Midgar, from Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children (which actually a world, too!), only even more depressing, & there are evil people littered everywhere that are just as evil as Sephiroth. Mikomi is lead by the fiercest being to exist in my world, Tsukangi (Tsoo-Kan-gee). He's the head of every bad organization, like the mob, & the Ashi, which literally means 'evil'. I am part of this organization, & I'll explain that a little later. Right now, I need to get back on topic, for I've veered off terribly._

_My fellow students have all entered & sat down in some random chairs around the room by this time. Mrs. Jacobs has yet to join our group of 6 students, though. Every Wednesday, the smartest students of the 7__th__ & 8__th__ grade rendezvous in my former 4__th__ grade teachers' class to practice for the day in April or May where we face off different schools with our knowledge of, well, everything. It's supposedly called Academic Olympics. I've never heard of it 'til now, though._

"_Eh, Remi! Did you study for the math test tomorrow?" Rachel asks me from across the room._

"_I don't need to." I answered back absentmindedly._

"_Why not?"_

"_Because I just don't."_

"_But even the smartest people need to study! That's how they get smart!"_

"_I studied enough."_

"_I think I did too, but I'd still-"_

_I cut her off & said rather fiercely, "Shut the fuck up, would you?!"_

_I'm considered as a mean person in my school. An outcast with a short temper & quiet, solemn personality. I rarely have conversations, & when I do, it usually ends with my famous line, 'Stfu & gtfa'. So when Rachel heard this, she wasn't surprised with it. She knew it was coming sooner or later._

_She sniffed indifferently. "Fine. But don't come crying to me asking to cheat offa my test.". Psh, like I'd ever do that. Fool._

_Mrs. Jacobs walking in the room swiftly just then & placed her bag on the chair closest to my right. "Well, what should we work on this afternoon? Come, come. Sit at this table, there are enough chairs to fit the lot of you.", she said._

_Now, Mrs. Jacobs is probably my favorite teacher on this world, earth. She is the smartest human I have ever met, &, though she does not know I'm not human (nor does any other human), it feels like she knows I'm different, but she doesn't treat me weirdly. I love her for that._

_N-not that I'm any closer to her, or any other human. I'm not close to any other people, for that matter, except for Vincent, my Protector._

_Every shape shifter has a Protector, even if they are only part shape shifter. Most Protectors are vampires, but some are werewolves, too. Vincent is a vampire, & a very disciplined one at that. He doesn't drink human blood, like most do. I let him take mine. Since I'm part shape shifter, I bleed. That's why I need a Protector. I have no way to protect myself. But then again, I'm part vampire & fallen angel, too, so I have a lot of strength & I can use a couple of the elements; Electricity (also Lightening), Darkness, & Light._

"_Remi, hello? I know you know this! What's Dr. Seuss' real name?! Jesus, where are you? Hello?!"_

_Mrs. Jacobs shook my shoulder hard. I realized that class had started & Jacobs was already firing off questions._

"_Theodor Geisel…" I mumbled quietly, finally coming to my senses. That's when I took a good sniff of the air. I smelled everyone's familiar scent; Jacobs, Rachel, Calvin, Ken, Jaab, Alex, & another scent that I couldn't identify that burnt my nose._

_Wait, burnt my nose?_

…_Something else was in the room._


	2. Chapter 2

_Well, not exactly __in__ the room, but coming towards the room, in a very, very speedy manner. I took another sniff, loudly this time so that I brought unwanted attention to myself, but I didn't care. Actually, I completely forgot that anyone else was in the room._

_I leapt onto the table quickly just as the newborn demon crashed into the door & ripping it from its hinges._

_How did I know it was newborn, & it was a demon? Its scent._

_All living (or previously living) things have scents. Demons sting a vampires'/werewolf's nose, but to other demons, it smells like heat plus the demons' unique smell, if you get what I mean._

_A werewolf, to a vampire/demon, makes their nose burn, To other wolves, they smell like dogs & the werewolves unique smell._

_A vampire makes a demons'/werewolf's nose really cold, like, freezing. To other vampires, they smell like dried blood & the vampires unique scent._

_Now, since I'm part fallen angel (Fallen angels don't have scents, we give off feeling), I can tell whether the demon is newly born or not. A newborn is hostile & feels invincible for the first 6-12 months, but any "mythical" creature beyond that age limit usually feels somewhat calmer & under control._

_So, after the entrance of Mr.Cuddlydemon, I shape shifted into my 17-year-old-but-actually-144-year-old body with my katana in hand. The demon prepared itself to maul me, as I predicted it would, & I launched myself at it before the thing had a chance to get ready for it. _

_Though, somehow, it knew what was coming. It jumped out of the way just before I could cut it in half like a loaf of freaking bread! Instead, it ran towards Jacobs & wrapped its sharp nails around her neck, while I nearly knocked myself out from hitting the floor really hard._

"_Ooouuch…" I mumbled when my elbows came in contact with the linoleum. I quickly got to my feet & pretended it didn't hurt, though. 'I hope I didn't break anything, dammit. That HURT!', I thought._

"_What do you want from me, devil's filth?" I said boldly._

"_The devil sent me to retrieve you for him", he sneered, showing his disgusting teeth. _

"_He already has my soul, what else does he want; action? Why doesn't he get Hitomi. She absolutely adores him to no end." I shuddered. _

_The demon chuckled. "No, little Remi. The boss wants his little messenger & assassin girl back. He misses your sadistic & crazy ways." He continued chucking & squeezed my teacher's neck tighter, making her gasp & me straighten up ever so slightly._

"_You can tell your boss to shove it, then. That was long ago, & I've already got enough blood on my hands. Besides, he's got you, doesn't he?" I said monotone-ly._

_The demon unconsciously loosened his grip slightly on Jacobs' throat. "Why yes, he does have me…But apparently he favors-"_

_I cut him off by pulling out my .45 Caliber pistol & blowing his non-existent brains out. I approached is quickly vanishing body & said, "I said __NO__."_

"_B__it__ch__…__" The demon muttered & vanished._

_I sighed leaned ny head back tiredly. Then my cell rang. 'Dammit,', I thought aggravated. I pulled it out of my pocket._

"_Yeah boss?….Yeah, I just disposed of a devil's demon….Uuh, no, no humans witnessed…", I glanced at all of the student's faces. I didn't need to tell Tsukangi about these few humans…I don't need to kill them just because they saw me end a mere demon…_

"…_What? Oh. Yeah, I'm sure. Completely." Shit. I hope he cant tell I'm lying. I really value my existence, but Tsukangi is good at telling what's a lie or not…But I'm talking to him on the phone. He wont be able to tell._

"_Remi, you're lying." Shit._

"_I know atleast one human has witnessed you kill the demon." Shit shit._

"_I suggest you prepare yourself for the consequences, Remi. You will be receiving them in less than 10 seconds." Shit shit shit!_

_The phone went dead._

"_SHIT!" I cursed loudly & dropped the phone._

"_Vincent!" I called out. He was behind me in a millisecond. "Yes?", he whispered near my ear. I didn't jump. I knew he would be there, he always was._

"_Open a portal to Midgar. NOW!" I ordered quickly. He obeyed, but said, "It'll take a couple minutes, so prepare yourself for Adam."_

_Adam. Oh shit. Oh shit shit shit shit shit. Shit. _

_Adam is the best assassin anywhere. Not even the devilcan touch him, he's so…feared. But of course he's under the control of Tsukangi. So much power… Tsukangi gets the best of the best, as I have implied before. I'm second best, by the way._

_I took Vincent's advice & raised my katana to ready position in one hand, & refilled my .45 Caliber in another. I turned to the students 6 students & 1 teacher & spoke for the first time to them since all this happened._

_Let the games begin," I said._


	3. Chapter 3

_Adam didn't come through the door, like I expected. I should have realized that Adam wasn't that stupid. Tsukangi wouldn't hire a stupid man._

_Adam came in through the window. Made a big entrance, too. He likes to draw attention to himself. I suggested once that he should join the circus. He almost took my head off at that comment. The kid can't take a joke…_

_He crashed in to the glass, which shattered into a million pieces all over the classroom. I barely had enough time to put up a magic barrier around everyone before it came down on us. Adam landed lightly on his feet & walked to the edge of my barrier._

"_Feeling a little protective, I see." , he smirked. Another thing about me; Because of my shape shifting ability, my eyes change color to my emotion. Currently, my eyes were probably blackish (emotionless) orange (protective)._

"_Well, of course. Even you should understand that if a person or people are in danger, they protect themselves & their…close ones." I said to him, looking him in the eye._

"_Close ones? That's a first! Since when are you close to anyone? You're not even close to your Protector-" he stopped & glanced at Vincent, seeing the portal-in-process. "Going somewhere…?" A sadistic smile spread across his face. _

"_Yes. I plan on going somewhere without you. What did you think I was going to do? Just sit back & let you kill all of us?" I responded, my eyes turning orange-red (protective-angry)._

"_Well, I was hoping…" e trailed off, faking like he was upset, & then continued, "But since that isn't the case, then let's get this started." he said, getting louder & louder & producing a purple ball of magic in his hands._

"_Vincent, is it ready yet…?!" I yelled over to him._

"_Less than a minute!" He yelled back._

_Upon hearing this, Adam smiled wider & made the magic ball of doom grow even faster. "Goodbye, Miss Remi. You should've taken the offer the Devil gave you. Now you have the guilt of everyone dying except for just you…!!" He thrust the magic ball of doom toward my barrier, & my very last thought before I blacked out was, 'How did that young fool know about the Devil's deal…?'_

_Hours Later_

_I opened my eyes to be welcomed a small, dreary room with a bed & a few boxes around. Vincent was sitting on one of the boxes closest to the bed. Upon seeing my open eyes, me asked, "Are you okay?"._

_That is such an overused phrase. 'Are you okay?'. If you fall down the stairs, 'Are you okay?'. You wake up after being in a coma for two zillion years, 'Are you okay?'. You jump out a window & bust your head open, 'Are you okay?!'. Sometimes I just want to say, 'No. I am NOT okay. Nothing is okay! Not for you, not for me, not for anyone! So stop asking, would you?! SHUT UP!'._

_Instead, I responded to Vincent. "I'm fine." , & I stood up to prove my statement._

_I yawned. I knew how I was still alive. I knew why, too. I didn't need to ask. I already knew Vincent was a last-second kind of person. He always does things at the last second like, open a portal just before getting blown up with a huge magic ball of doom._

"_Where are the humans?", I asked._

"_Downstairs with cloud & everyone.", he said smoothly, ushering me through the door & down the stairs._

"_Cloud. Tifa. Reno. Rude. Yuffie. Cid. Red. Cait Sith. Barett.", I nodded at each of them as I said their names. This is Vincent's "family". This is the world he originally belonged to; Midgar. It's not much happier than Mikomi, I'll tell you. But atleast the evil guy here can be defeated somewhat easily._

"_Hey Remi!" "'Sup?" "Yo!" "Hey." "Dude!" "Hey!" "What's up?" "Missed ya!" A chorus of hello's welcomed me, accompanied by some waves & grunts. The humans looked pretty confused & uncomfortable._

"_Did you expain anything to them?" , I asked Vincent quietly._

"_Iie (no), I thought you wanted to.", he responded._

"_Hai (yes), I guess that's fine." I replied & turned to Cloud. "Uuh, Cloud? Do you mind if I talk to these guys-" I gestured to the mortals," privately for a few minutes? I need to explain some things to them." _

_Cloud nodded & walked out of the bar with everyone following him except me, Vincent, & the humans._

"_So,", I began somewhat awkwardly, " Mrs. Jacobs, what would you like me to start off with?"_


	4. Chapter 4

_Mrs. Jacobs' Profile_

"_Well, what attacked us this afternoon…?" I asked._

"_It was a demon. The devil sent it because the devil himself always stays in hell, & can't go onto earth very comfortably, if you know whatI mean." Remi answered flatly. She was still in the form she was when she had fought this demon, & Adam._

"_What __are__ you?!" Calvin burst out. "You can change into different forms, you 'sensed' that demon like, 5 seconds before it even made a noise to indicate its existence, & you fight like a…hardcore stunt-woman!"_

_She looked at him & her eyes turned a blackish-red (Emotionless-angry)."I am part shape shifter, part fallen angel, & ½ vampire." she responded to his rude outburst._

_It was quiet. I wasn't very shocked, I expected something weird from her. If demons existed, then what else?_

"_What else exists that we don't know about?" I asked. "What other…lands are out there? Any other crap that is right under our noses , but we have no freaking clue about?!". I was angry. How could I not know about any of this? I'm 43 years old, I've been almost everywhere in the whole world, & I haven't noticed anything different. Goddammit, I'm a smart woman. I should've…_

_Calvin's Profile_

"_Well, what attacked us this afternoon…?" Mrs. Jacobs asked. It was a demon, of course! Oh my god, how could she not have remembered that? It was said so many times when we were back on earth…_

"_It was a demon…" I tuned out Remi at that point. I figured out that part already. All I wanted o know right now was what she was. She is definitely not human, I know. I shivered. What could she be? & furthermore, is she dangerous to us…? Our Remi, who was as normal as we thought she could be. Is she dangerous?_

"_What __are__ you?!" I said loudly. Mrs. Jacobs gave me a dirty look. "You can change into different forms, you 'sensed' that demon like, 5 seconds before it even made a noise to indicate its existence, & you fight like a…hardcore stuntwoman!" I ended pretty lamely, but I got my point across. Dammit, I was annoyed, but right thenI realized I was party amazed, too. Overwhelmed by this change. What the fuck was going on?_

"_I am part shape shifter, part fallen angel, & ½ vampire.", she informed me angrily._

_Shit. Okay. That shut us all up for a couple of seconds. Vampire? Was she planning to kill us sometime? What if she-_

"_What else exists that we don't know about? What other…lands are out there? Any other crap that is right under our noses , but we have no freaking clue about?!" Mrs. Jacobs was pretty pissed. But weren't we all? We were attacked by some strong-ass dude who was going to __kill__ us! We are mad!_

_Alex's Profile_

_I was silent for awhile. I didn't really care about why we were here or anything. I did wonder, though, who Remi really was._

_I wasn't angry, as some people were. I was actually kind of happy. I enjoy being away from my family. I never was very close with my family, & I was kind of an outcast at school, except from this little group. This group was made up of outcasts. This __was__ my family. I needed to remember to thank Remi sometime. This will be one hell of an adventure._

_Jaab's Profile_

_Alex, Ken, Rachel, & I were all tuning out everyone else's voices, & were locked away in our little worlds. Well, atleast Alex, Ken & I were. Rachel was silently crying & thinking about suing everyone in this room, probably._

_I knew Alex was going to enjoy this little…ride. I knew he likes new places, & whatever. I guess I should enjoy the ride, too, because we might not be on it for long. I really didn't know what Ken thought of all this, though._

_Ken's Profile_

_I heard only a few words of this discussion we were having, but I got the gist of it. I didn't really care about this. I actually wanted to go home, but I kinda got the idea that we won't see home for awhile. We might not even see it ever again. _

_I really want some wine. I see it behind the bar over there, but I won't interrupt anything for it. Yet. :-)_

_Rachel's Profile_

_I started crying when we came out of the portal thing a couple of hours ago, & I haven't stopped. I'm going to sue every single one of you losers when we get back! I want to go home!_

_Remi's Profile_

_I looked at Jacobs, & realized how fragile humans are, physically & emotionally. I could accidentally crush one of them when I'm aiming to pat their shoulder. They wouldn't stand a chance against another immortal._

_Plus, they get emotional very easily. Like now. Jacobs & Calvin are angry, & Rachel is apparently sad, because she's crying her pretty little heart out. But then there's Alex, Ken & Jaab. The three of them look calm, & somewhat content. _

"_There are many, many world out there, Mrs. Jacobs. So many. Even now, no one knows how many worlds there are. But we do know what…creatures live on what worlds we know exist. The most common are vampires, demons, angels, & fairies."._

_Jacobs looked at me for a few moments, as if contemplating whether to ask something or not. I began thinking of ways to dodge a personal question. Jacobs interrupted my thoughts by asking, "Who are you?'._

_Who am I? That's not terribly personal. I could answer that in so many ways._

"_I am Remi Santoni," I began quietly, but I knew everyone heard & was paying close attention. " I am the girl who plans to keep you all alive, no matter what. I am the girl who plans to take down Tsukangi, & end my home world's misery, Mikomi. I am the girl who exists as a wanted assassin. I am Remi Santoni, & that's who I am."_


	5. Chapter 5

_Cloud & Tifa rejoined everyone after my little speech & showed us to our rooms._

_Mrs. Jacobs' room was a small off-white room with a small window, but a beautiful view of Midgar's depressing city. Jaab got a red room with no window, but a small T.V. & stereo. Alex got the same kind of room, but bigger & no T.V. Ken got a medium-sized room colored dark purple with a big window view of the forest. Rachel got a yellow room with a somewhat big window over the marketplace. Vincent & I share a black room with a window view of the desert beyond Midgar. We rarely use the room, because we rarely take the time to sleep._

_Everyone decided to relax in their rooms except for Vincent & I. He, like many times, mysteriously disappeared. I know he will either come back on his own, or if I call him, he will come. _

_Vincent, being my certified protector, can always hear me if I call for him, & I can hear him if he calls me. Either of our calls open a small portal for the other to enter & take us to whichever one of us called. It's pretty cool, actually. _

_I went back downstairs to where cloud & his group was discussing their latest problem; Sephiroth._

"_He seems to have risen again,", I heard Cloud say. "We need to finish him off before we have a recurrence of last time." _

"_Well, now we have Remi-chan & Vincent-san back for the time being. They could help us so much, y'know,", Cid said particularly to Cloud, who nodded thoughtfully._

"_They both have awesome aim with guns…", Yuffie giggled. "& Remi-chan is a great acrobatic fighter. She's not very talkative, though. So much in that little mind!"_

_Little mind? I'll tell you who has a little mind…_

"_She has a bad history, Yuffie. She has a reason to be anti-social." Tifa defended me._

_I knew Yuffie well enough to say that I was positive that she was going to ask about my history. I really didn't need to hear about it again, so I interrupted._

"_What's all this about Sephiroth?" I cut in from the bottom step if the stairs. "He's 'risen again'? How's that possible?"._

_The group turned to me, surprised. Cloud paused for a moment, but then began._

_(I DON'T KNOW THE WHOLE STORY! SORRY!! But you guys can look it up, if you wish…)_

"_So, what's the plan?" I asked._

"_There isn't one. We're just gonna play it out until something comes up.", Reno informed me._

"_Alright. Who wants beer?!", Tifa said brightly. There was a chorus of grunts, cheers, & yells. Vincent came in the door just then, & gave me a look. I understood what he was trying to tell me through that look, because I've seen it many times. He needed blood._

_I nodded minutely, & disappeared up the steps to my room. I smelled Vincent following discreetly._

_I sat on my bed & pulled my sleeve up to my elbow & held it out. Vincent entered & closed to door quietly. He turned to me & gave me a stern, but sad kind of look. He knew that I was completely fine with this, but he still was sorry about it. I nodded again, & he sat next to me & took my arm. I unconsciously relaxed in his gasp._

_He brought my wrist up to him lips & inhaled silently. He glanced at me again, then sunk his teeth into my wrist. _

_I twitched slightly, but that was it. I was used to it, since he's been doing this for about 120 of the 144 years I've known him._

_A drop of my blood dripped down my wrist & I watched it fall & make contact with the floor with a small splat sound. I sighed quietly & watched another drop of blood hit the floor & spread slightly. Five drops later, Vincent lower my arm & looked at it for a moment. I expected this. He does this every time. Then he gets up, looks at me, & exit's the room as quickly & quietly as he does when he enters._

_But this time, instead of leaving, he did something unexpected. _

_He hugged me._

_It was warm. That was the first thing I noticed about it. He was sitting on my right, & his arms were around my stomach & lower back. He's a few inches taller than me, so his head was leaning on the side of mine, his face buried in my hair. I felt his breath in my hair; So warm._

_& then I did something unexpected._

_I hugged him back._

_I buried my face into the inside of his shoulder & put one hand on his upper arm & one on his back. I could tell he was surprised, because he stiffened, but then he relaxed._

_We stayed like that for quite a while, until we heard Reno belch from downstairs. Vincent was out of the embrace quicker that the fastest human alive can run in a second & was facing the closed door. I looking in the mirror in front of me & saw that my eyes were a dark shade of pink. I heard Vincent open the door & I looked to where he was- Well, were he should've been. He was out the door before I could even catch a glimpse of his face._

_Crap. What did I do?_


	6. Chapter 6

_After the incident last night, I just sat on my small bed & stared at the door. Eventually I fell asleep & dreamt about running I don't know who, or what, I was running from, but I knew it wasn't from something bad. Probably another dream about my parents. _

_You see, I was never really close to my parents. I had two sisters who were born on earth, so one of my parents was always there & the other was with me, on Mikomi. I still don't understand why they never let me meet my other two sisters, or why they always kept me like I was some hostage. I always dreamed of getting away, until finally that chance came, even at such a terrible, horrible price. Back then, I was completely okay with the price. Even happy with it. But now, I regret it. I would've stayed with my family forever if I knew how bad it would've turned out._

_I sighed & sat up from the uncomfortable position I was in; Laying on my side with my arm tucked under my body, & legs hanging off the bed. I shook my arm & an unpleasant tingling sensation erupted all over the skin on my arm. I hate when that happens._

_I sniffed the air & looked for any unfamiliar scents; Vincent's scent was the most prominent, since he was the last one in my room. I smelled the students from earth, & Cloud's gang. Though, I could tell Vincent wasn't in the bar, of course. He won't come back for a few hours (or days) unless I call him._

_I stood up from the bed & looked around. 'I wonder when Tsukangi's gonna track us down again…Heh. He's probably working on it right now.', I thought. I looked at myself in the mirror. I need some blood…_

_I walked out of the room & went downstairs. Tifa greeted me with a grin & asked, "Water?"._

"_Yeah…", I mumbled. I needed to relax & drink a lot of liquids to produce more blood cells. Since I'm part shape shifter & fallen angel, I do produce blood, just not as quickly as humans._

"_Here ya go.", Tifa said, setting the glass in front of me. _

"_Thank you.", was my response._

_I downed it in three seconds._

"_Whoa! You're one thirsty woman, you know that?!", Yuffie exclaimed from the other side of the bar next to Reno, who stirred slightly from her outburst. "Oow, Yuffie…Shut up…", mumbled Reno, & passed out._

_Cloud & Red were nowhere to be seen, but I could still smell them, so they aren't far._

_Tifa knew about my situation. About my lack of blood, as did everyone here did (except for the humans I picked up on earth, who were still in their rooms), so Tifa had already supplied me with more water._

"_Thank you again.", I said to her, ignoring Yuffie._

_I drank another six or so cups & then thanked Tifa again. I stood up & walked out of the bar. _

_The first time I ever saw Midgar, which was about 205 years ago, it had been such a different place. I mean, not like it was before evil touched it, but not like it is now._

_Midgar 205 years ago didn't have orphans running around in the street, & people were happier, & the desert wasn't as bad as it is now. Everything was more colorful. It wasn't beautiful, as it was over 300 years ago, before everything. But it was…Pretty. You would've thought it was much more…Wonderful than it really was. Than what it ended up to be._

_I stood facing the city. The sun was just setting, & it was beautiful. Mother nature is always beautiful, even if our human/monster creations are not._

"_Tifa, do you need anything?", I called to her._

"_Uuh, yeah! Could you get some bread? Any kind will do!", she replied._

"_I took off running the moment Tifa finished her sentence. I just wanted a reason to move, so I could think._

_The city was nearing quickly, because of my inhumane speed. I weaved through buildings, just searching for a grocery store or bakery. I soon caught the scent of some newly baked bread & followed it._

_I rounded a corner & found the source of the smell; A bakery._

_I entered & saw an old man, about 60 I would say, with a chef's hat on, beating dough on the front counter. Upon seeing me, he smiled & asked, "Can I help you?"._

"_Yeah. What's the best bread you have?", I said tonelessly._

"_Well, all my bread is the best…", he trailed off, looking at me uncertainly. _

"_Young lady, is there something troubling you?", he asked kindly, concerned._

"_No.", I said curtly. "Why?"._

"_You look like someone with a great amount of things on your mind. Things that cause a lot of worry to you.", he replied._

_I sighed, & looked at the man tiredly. "I am a girl with many, many problems, sir. The one that is most apparent at the moment is getting bread for someone. Now, do you mind telling me which of your bread is the best?", I said, annoyed._

"_As I said before, young lady. All my bread is the best.", He said. _

"_What's the most expensive?", I said quickly._

"_That would be this one right here.", He replied, pulling out a bag & setting it on the counter next to the partially beaten dough. _

"_How much?"_

"_Fifty dollars for this homemade, soft-"_

"_I'll take it.", I cut him off, dropping fifty dollars on the counter & snatching the bag of bread. I began walking swiftly to the door._

"_Ma'am, whatever is troubling you, I suggest you not worry about it.", said the baker. I paused. "Everything works out in the end. Always. Either you can sit back & play it out, or do something about it. Just, relax a little bit. You make yourself look way older than a teen when you look stressed."_

_I stayed where I was for a moment, & then continued out of the bakery. _

"_Thank you, & please come again!", I heard the baker yell to me._

_The cool night air felt good on my skin as I ran. The bread was tucked under my arm like a football,& it smelled delicious. 'Everything works out in the end, huh? Maybe it does. But should I sit back & wait, or should I do something about 'it'? I honestly have no idea. But thank you, baker. Your words have helped me, even in the tiniest bit.'._

_I reached Tifa's bar faster than it took me to get to the bakery, & Tifa was slightly surprised at my speed. "5 minutes…", she muttered quietly._

_I sat on a barstool next to Rude & Reno, who hadn't moved since my quick departure. I rested my head in my hand._

_Then, I suddenly felt a pang in my chest. Something was wrong with Vincent. I sat up & waited for Vincent to call my name & allow me to teleport to Vincent's location. After 10 seconds, he still hadn't called for me._

_20._

_25._

_The pang grew more prominent with every second. Something big was happening on Vincent's end, but Vincent never called for me._

_Finally, I leapt up & told Tifa I'd be right back._

_As I rushed out of the bar, I tried to find Vincent's scent, but it had long-since disappeared with the wind. I took a guess & ran toward the Forgotten Capital of the Ancients, which was pretty much a forest filled with super white trees. It's the kind of place that Vincent would be._

_By the time I had reached the outskirts of the Capital, the pang in my chest was so intense that I thought I might've been stabbed through the chest._

_This I had a terrible thought; 'What if Vincent's bing stabbed through the chest right now?'._

_The thought caught me off guard & I tripped over a protruding root from a tree. I gasped & landed face-first in the dirt, but I rebounded quickly & began running faster._

'_Dammit, Vincent. What's happening to you?'_


	7. Chapter 7

_Vincent's Profile_

_I disappeared out of Remi's room & ran down the stairs. I passed the relaxing group of my "family", & out the door. I looked at the city & then thought about the Forgotten Capital of the Ancients. It didn't take me long to decide I took off toward the Forgotten Capital._

_As I ran, I heard Remi asking Tifa if she needed anything. I wasn't to far away from the bar yet, so I hid behind a cliff & watched Remi depart toward the city. Obviously, she needed time to think, because she wouldn't be going to the city for any other reason._

_As I watched her disappear, I couldn't help but think about how many times she has seen me disappear. Plenty of times, No doubt. The first time I had left her alone was many years ago, I believe it was November 1863, 4 months after we first met. It was after one of our first missions from Tsukangi._

_We were in our room on the 5__th__ floor of Ashi's hideout. She was sitting on the bed with her back against the wall, zoning out, as usual. She wasn't a vampire or fallen angel then, so she was, well, human-looking. Not insanely beautiful, though she was naturally beautiful._

_Anyway, I was sitting in a chair next to the bed, leaning back. I was contemplating where I should go, or if I should just wander. I was young then; & so was Remi, so she didn't know what to think when I just...Left. Disappeared out of thin air. I, of course, had no idea she would have a problem with that. Being as young as I was, I didn't really care. _

_I decided to go to the forest preserve about two miles out. I looked at the clock; 9:30p.m. I stood up & looked at Remi, who had lazily looked up at me with her emotionless eyes. If I was older back then, I would've saw the expertly hidden questioning look she had. But, I didn't know what to look for. I looked at the door & disappeared._

_About three hours later, I felt a pang in my chest. It was the first time I'd ever felt it, because Remi & I had never been separated for so long that she would be worried to the extent that would cause me to feel the pang. 'Pangs' depend on what you're feeling, thinking about, what's happening around you, or if you're injured or mot._

_I didn't think much of it as I began my trip back to headquarters. I remember thinking, 'I must be thirsty or something...'._

_When I arrived at headquarters 20 minutes later, I could tell Remi had left our room about 30 minutes ago; about the time the pangs started._

_I thought nothing of it & continued to sit doen in the same chair I had been in three hours & twenty minutes earlier. I waited for Remi to cone back, & hoped the annoying pangs would cease until she got back. To my surprise, they increased & became really uncomfortable._

_After another hour, I went outside. It was about 2:00a.m., & neither of us had ever been out that late-or early- in the morning. Her scent had already disappeared, so I decided to go to the city looking for her._

_I weaved through rows & rows of Mikomi's dreary buildings, but I never caught her scent. By about 4:00a.m., I gave up. 'Maybe she went home...', I had thought. _

_To my great relief, she had returned home, but only for a few minutes. I caught her scent & followed it all the way to a park right outside the city. I saw her walking quickly down the paved walk, & I called to her, "Remi? What are you-?"_

_She spun around & cut me off by rushing to me & leapt up to grab me around the neck & hug me. I caught a glimpse of her eyes, which were purple-blue, & her face was covered with worry. It was one of the first times I had ever seen her with emotion._

_"Where did you go? Why didn't you tell me? All I saw was you disappear! Shit, you need to tell me things!", She said into my neck._

_"S-sorry...?", I stuttered, unsure._

_"Damn right, you're sorry!", She replied, & I could tell she was greatly relieved. She sighed into my neck, & I shivered at the warmth of her breath._

_We just stood there for a moment, & then she let go quickly & her eyes were a dark, dark blue, which turned black after a second._

_"We need to become certified partners. Then if I need you, I can call you. It would be the same if you needed me.", Remi had said to me._

_"Okay...", I replied to her, & we both walked back to headquarters in silence._

_That was the day I realized that I was closer to her than I had thought, & that she actually did give a crap about me, & not just put up with me because she had to._

_& as I watched her enter the city in search of a bakery or grocery store, I realized how unbelievably distant she's become since that warm November morning in 1863._


	8. Chapter 8

_Remi's Profile_

_I found Vincent in the middle of the Forgotten Capital of the Ancients. He was kneeling on the ground with his red cloak spread around him. His head was bent facing the ground, & his gun was in hand, but I could tell he didn't have any bullets left._

_Upon my arrival, he raised his gun & looked up at me. I was severely shocked at his facial expression. He was terrified. His eyes were wide & he was shaking slightly. When he realized that it was me, her lowered his gun & looked away, ashamed to be seen in this state. I suddenly realized that it was freezing here._

_"Vincent...", I whispered, bewildered & frightened. I knew my eyes must be a greenish purple._

_I ran to his side & put a hand on his back & pushed him up against a tree. He still didn't look at me._

_"What happened? Why didn't you call for me?", I demanded. He had to answer._

_He didn't answer immediately, but he looked at me wearily. "It was dangerous...", He muttered." I'm your Protector, so I protected you from harm by not calling you...", He trailed off._

_"Y-you should've still called me, you idiot. You're my Protector. I'll need you to be there for me until my time comes.", I said, leaning my forehead against his shoulder. I sighed. "We need to get you back to Tifa's. Can you walk?"._

_"No...", he said, looking at me cautiously. I thrusted my arm out & rolled my sleeve up quickly. _

_"Drink.", I ordered._

_"I already took some today. I'm your Protector. I'm not supposed to kill you.", He said sheepishly._

_"I said drink!", I scolded & raised my eyebrows. I didn't like ordering him around, because he had to obey everything I said. But this is for his own good._

_He took my arm reluctantly & bit it. After 3 or 4 seconds, he pulled away & said, "Okay?"._

_"Stand up.", I said._

_He stood._

_"Walk.", I ordered._

_He took two steps, & then collapsed against a tree._

_I got up quickly & caught him before he fell. "Keep drinking.", I told him, giving him my arm._

_After another 6 or so seconds, I began getting woozy. I didn't tell Vincent, though._

_He pulled away from my arm & pushed off from the tree. "I can walk now.", He said._

_"O-kay. Let's get going...Then...", I trailed off & leaned against a tree._

_"I took to much blood...", Vincent whispered in my ear, suddenly next to me, supporting my weak figure._

_"I'll live.", I stated, slurring. I struggled to stand up, but Vincent picked me up bridal style._

_"H-hey!", I said, surprised._

_"You can't walk.", He pointed out._

_"Well, thanks, Captain Obvious...", I mumbled & passed out. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was a low rumble from Vincent's chest. I might've imagined it, though._

_What a day. I went into the Forgotten Capital of the Ancients to save Vincent, & I come out of the Capital with Vincent carrying my unconscious body._

_What a day it was._


	9. Chapter 9

_Vincent's Profile_

_After I put Remi to bed so her body could recuperate, I went downstairs, where dinner was being served. Everyone was eating; The students & teacher in Remi's former Academic Olympics class, & everyone else. I sat down at the end of the table, next to cid & in front of Ken._

_"So, what was up with you & Remi-chan today? She was just relaxing at the bare with some water when she like, suddenly shot up ten feet & practically yelled 'I'll be right back!', & was out of the door faster than a junkie on speed!", Yuffie asked._

_I looked at everyone & noticed that they all were paying attention, even if they were trying to hide their curiosity._

_"I got into some trouble, & Remi left to find me.", I stated quietly & unemotionally._

_"Really? What was so important that she would be so...Concerned?", Tifa asked._

_I looked at Cloud. He was watching me intently & when he saw my look, he nodded as if encouraging me to continue._

_"Some of Sephiroth's followers noticed my presence while they were in a meeting...", I replied._

_"Did you find anything new about Sephiroth?", Cloud asked urgently._

_"No, they were trying to figure out Sephiroth's whereabouts, like us. They weren't very successful, though.", I finished quietly._

_"Have you informed Remi-chan?", asked Tifa._

_"Not yet. I will when she comes to.", I said to her, & stood up. "Thank you for dinner. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to my room."._

_I got a glass of water for Remi & walked quickly to her/my room. I set the glass on the shelf next to her bed & sat next to her on the edge of the bed._

_She was curled up on her side, holding her stomach. She had a pained expression her face, like she was having a nightmare, which she probably was. Ever since she was seventeen years old, when her parents were murdered by her uncle, right in front of her._

_I touched her face lightly & brushed some hair away from her face. To my surprise, her faced relaxed to the point where she looked peaceful. As if she were a normal, seventeen year old girl without a care in the world. I my expression softened slightly. I made her dream a little more bearable. _

_I sighed & pulled away. I needed to stop doing this. I'm her protector, & that's it. I follow her orders, & only hers. I obey & respect everything that comes from her mouth. I am hers, & no one else. Hers._

_I stood up & began toward the door. I glanced back at her once more & saw that her face became pained again, but it looked worse. I sighed again, knowing that I truly wanted to go back & wake her up, comfort her, make her happy. But I didn't._

_"Sweet dreams...", I whispered half-heartedly. _


	10. Chapter 10

_Remi's Profile_

_I was running nowhere. I mean, I __was__ running, but I didn't feel like I was moving. Everything was black, except me & my pursuer._

_My uncle wasn't even running, but he was catching up to me, __**fast**__. So maybe I wasn't running..._

_"Darling, you wanted to be freed, yes?", Jason asked in a sugary sweet voice._

_& then he was behind me, his chin resting on my shoulder, lips to my ear. I froze. I was afraid, but not terrified._

_"Yes", I said just above a whisper. " Yes yes yes.". I exhaled in a huff._

_"Well, you're free.", he said, lifting his chin & grabbing my shoulders. He spun me around to face him._

_Jason was white. Completely whit. From what I remember, his eyes were naturally greenish-yellow. His hair was black & to his shoulders, always in a ponytail. His face was long & sharp, & his mouth was too big for his face._

_"But darling, your freedom is for a price.", he said, showing his brilliantly white teeth & fangs. I shuddered._

_Jason wasn't a vampire. He was more of a snake than anything else. He didn't want my blood; he wanted to give me the cursed mark._

_"Anything...", I breathed, foolishly relieved that my parents were finally...Finished. _

_You see, my uncle wasn't really 'Jason'. I didn't know it at the time, but my uncle was really Orochimaru, from Konohagakure. Back then, I didn't even know that there were different worlds out there. I thought Mikomi was it, & there were no such things as angels or fairies. I knew about vampires, though, because my parents told me about my sisters being vampires. I only just recently found out about Konohagakure & Jason being Orochimaru._

_Anyway, back to my dream._

_I've been through this dream many, many times. Every time at this point of the nightmare, I get bitten by 'Jason' & fall to the non-existent floor screaming. But thus time I didn't. This time, Vincent suddenly popped up to save the day._

_Now, this didn't make much sense. I didn't know him back then, & I wouldn't know him for another 51 years. But hell, this is a dream. Who cares?_

_"Thank you...", I said shakily to Vincent, bewildered at this sudden change. He nodded & began walking to me._

_"Did he hurt you?", he asked, concerned._

_"No...", I replied._

_That's when Vincent made a quiet, but pained noise. _

_A snake had bitten him on the ankle, & 'Jason' was nowhere in sight. Vincent sank to the floor, & the snake, who had been bleeding profusely, ceased moving._

_& that's about when I started screaming._

_Vincent's Profile_

_A few seconds after I left Remi's room, I was downstairs. sitting on a barstool. Jaab, Ken, & Alex sere the only people down here, & they were all at a table talking. I wasn't incredibly interested in their conversation, but I was curious, so I eavesdropped. _

_"- you think we'll ever get home?", Alex asked the others._

_" Psh, who cares? This is __**awesome**__! We're actually in a different world! We escaped death-"_

_"For the time being...", grumbled Jaab._

_Ken continued, ignoring Jaab's comment, "- & we're having fun! Don't you guys enjoy this?",_

_"Yeeaah, but to some extent. We're probably gonna move soon.", said Alex._

_"Again.", added Jaab & Ken._

_It was quiet for a moment, but then Ken broke the silence._

_"I want some of that liquor.", he said, pointing to the cases of wine behind the bar counter._

_That's about the time when Remi screamed. We all looked up the stairs, surprised. After a second, I swiftly disappeared up the steps before any of the kids could blink._

_I slammed open Remi's bedroom door & it hit the wall with a loud bang. She was still asleep, but she had probably gotten to the point in her nightmare where Orochimaru had bit her, but she had never screamed out loud before, though she has told me that when it really happened, she screamed. I wouldn't blame her._

_I rushed to her side & shook her. She awoke with a start & looked at me. Her eyes were a deep purple with a blue tint. Upon awakening, she stopped screaming & buried her face into my chest. She was breathing hard. "Remi.", I said seriously._

_She pulled away just as the bit of color in her eyes faded to black._

_"Sorry. I'm okay.", she whispered & moved to the side of the bed._

_Jaab, Ken, & Alex showed up at the door. "Is everything okay?!", they yelled in unison._

_"Yeah...", Remi said, looking up at them._

_"What happened?", Jaab questioned._

_"Rat.", Remi lied & stood up. She walked out the door quickly, avoiding everyone's eyes._

_"Rat...", I muttered._


	11. Chapter 11

_Remi's Profile_

_"Cloud. It's been four days since our meeting about Sephiroth. What are we going to do about this?", Barret asked Cloud at dinner this evening, five days since we arrived._

_"You remember what we decided right? we're sticking to the plan.", said Reno, & Rude grunted in agreement._

_"Yes, but he's being even more secretive, since he knows we're onto him. He might not make a movie until -BAM!- he's there & we're not.", Yuffie said, hyper as usual._

_Vincent & I were sitting quietly facing each other at the end of the table. I agreed with Yuffie & Barret, but I think we'll find something before Sephiroth actually does something. I mean, we don't even know if that's what's happening. Cloud sighed. "We'll get something. We'll be able to defeat him.", & then he stood up & walked out of the room._

_Marlene & Denzel entered to room holding hands._

_"Tifa-chan, can we go water the flower garden?, asked Marlene innocently._

_"Sure.", replied Tifa. " Is everyone finished with dinner?", she asked us._

_There was a chorus of 'Yes'' & nods, so she collected the dishes & put them in the sink. By the time she finished this, everyone had left except for me, the kids from earth, & Denzel, who was wondering around the bar. Vincent had disappeared for the billionth time._

_After about 15 minutes of doing nothing, I heard Marlene cry, "Tifa-chan!". I got up quickly, & so did Denzel._

_"Stay here.", I ordered to everyone in the bar. Denzel stopped, & looked at me._

_"I'm going to go check on them.", I told him._

_I ran out of the bar & toward the flower garden. I saw a big man with silver hair that was cropped short leaning over Tifa's unconscious body. Marlene was holding Cloud's materia, & the man stood up facing her._

_"Marlene, run!", I heard Tifa yell weakly._

_Marlene looked at Tifa, & then saw me. "Remi-cahn!", she exclaimed, running to me & dropping the materia._

_The man turned toward me, & I began running to Marlene. When I reached her, I said, "Go to the bar & tell everyone to hide, okay?". She nodded & ran._

_I looked at the man who was about two yards away, & was slowly walking toward me._

_"What a pretty young lady! What might your name be?", he asked in a sickly sweet voice._

_"My name?", I said, unsheathing my katana. "My name is shut the fuck up. What's yours, you perverted old fag?", I asked insultingly._

_He growled. "My name is Loz. Where's mother?", he demanded._

_"Ooh, you get right down to business, eh? I have no idea what you're talking about. Who's mother?", I asked._

_"Well, what you don't know won't hurt you.", he paused, then continued. "Or maybe it might...", he finished, getting in a fighting position._

_I prepared myself & raised my katana. "You think my ignorance could hurt me? I think __**not**__.", I said arrogantly, & then launched myself at him._

_I swung my katana at his head & he blocked with his weird arm-thing. I punched him in the face & then jumped back, landing on my feet, crouched. He stumbled, but caught himself._

_"You bitch.", he stated angrily._

_"Yes, I get that nickname a lot, lately. I wonder why...", I smirked._

_We fought for another minute of so, until he nailed me with his freaky arm-thing & shocked me with whatever was in it. I fell & momentarily blacked out._

_"Hmmph.", he muttered, pleased with himself for bringing me down so quickly. He began walking toward Tifa's bar. I sat up slowly & pulled out my gun. I shot at his retreating figure, but he got out of the way with his super speedy powers of doom. He came up behind me & growled angrily._

_"You need to __die__.", he said, & aimed his stupid Arm-Thing of Doom at me again. I blocked._

_"Well, you've got to give me more credit than __that__. You're underestimating me.", I said, egging him on. He growled for the millionth time & lunged at me again._

_He punched me un the face & I flew back, hitting the wall with a sickening smack. I slid down slowly, cussing all the way. Before I could stand & resume the fight, he was in my face again & stabbing me painfully with his goddamn Arm-Thing of Doom._

_Because of the extent of whatever he shocked my with, I passed out. _

_"__**I'm**__ underestimating __**you**__? Are you sure about that?", was the last thing I heard before I fell into darkness. Stupid perverted silver-haired old man..._

_Vincent's Profile_

_I felt the pang in my chest stop abruptly as I made my way quickly back to Tifa's pub. It was only there for about 3 minutes, & then it just...Stopped._

_That could only mean one of three things. One is that she's fine, which is what I was hoping for. Two is that she's passed out, which is okay, as long as she's not severely hurt. The third thing it could mean is that she's dead. Stone-cold dead._

_I ran faster._

_Remi's Profile_

_I slowly became conscious again. When I finally completely came to, I grabbed my cell & dialed Cloud._

_Voicemail picked up. "Cloud. Get you're large, protective, life-saving ass to Tifa's NOW. We've encountered some deep shit that is in need of you're expertise.". I snapped my phone shut loudly & leapt to my feet._

_I ran to Tifa & checked her pulse. Okay, she's alive. That stupid Arm-Thing of Doom didn't kill her, then. Maybe Loz isn't as good as he says he is. He left two unconscious females in a rundown church, thinking they were dead. He's an idiot to think that he killed us with that tiny little shock that knocked us out for a teeny while. Well, knocked me out for a teeny while. Tifa's still out cold. _

_I left her in the recently-destroyed garden & went to the bar quickly._

_When I finally reached the bar, I heard yelling from upstairs._

_The humans._

_I sped up & pulled out my katana. I saw Loz grabbing Denzel & Marlene & attempting to drag them toward the stairs. "Shut up!", he kept repeating to the screaming orphans. Mrs. Jacobs was trying to make him stop by hitting him & biting & screaming, but he shoved her off & she hit the wall. I heard her shoulder crack & I knew it was dislocated. She screamed in agony._

_I ran in & jumped up at Loz, aiming my katana at his head._

_He let go of Denzel at the last second & blocked my attack with his bare hand. Blood spurted on the wall & I had to stop myself from going crazy on his wounded hand. He growled fiercely. "Persistent little bitch...", & punched me in the gut. I caught myself & launched at him again. We fought like that for awhile until he threw me against the wall at the end of the hall. He grabbed Marlene & Denzel & practically flew down the stairs._

_I got up & pursued them to the door, but by the time I finally got to the door, they were halfway across the desert, heading toward The Forgotten Capital on a motorcycle. Maybe Vincent will catch them._

_I went upstairs quickly & asked everyone, "Is anyone hurt?"._

_"Mrs. Jacobs has a dislocated shoulder, I think.", Jaab said uncertainly. I surveyed everyone & noted that they all looked shaken._

_I went to Mrs. Jacobs & summoned some of my Light Magic: Healing. (From being part fallen angel.). I put my glowing-white hand on her shoulder & healed the bruise that was currently forming on her upper arm. But I knew I had to reset the shoulder to get it to heal correctly._

_"Mrs. Jacobs,", I said unemotionally. "If you've ever seen those doctor shows on T.V., then you know what I'm going to have to do next.", I paused, looking at her. She nodded. _

_"I'll do it as quick as I can.", I finished, & jerked her arm out fast._

_Mrs. Jacobs let out a pained scream, & I flinched._

_When she stopped, I healed her other minor wounds & stood up._

_"I need to contact Cloud. I'm going downstairs for a moment.", I informed everyone & proceeded downstairs._

_I took out my cell from my pocket only to have it knocked from my hand. I hadn't been paying attention to any different smells at that moment, so Vincent scared the shit out of me when he tackled me from the side. "Are you okay?!", he demanded._

_"Y-yeah!", I stuttered, surprised beyond belief. Then I remembered; During the fight with Loz, I must've initiate the pang-thing._

_"I'm sorry!", I burst out suddenly, my eyes surely turning a dark green with a pink tint. I tried to control my emotions, because I knew that green + pink disgusting mixture. I continued with my sentence as I struggled with my emotions. "I should've called you. But I was...preoccupied...", I trailed off._

_"Nani (what)?", Vincent asked, letting go of my small, but unimaginably strong figure._

_I explained everything that happened after he left. When I finished, he was quiet for a second. Then suddenly he said, "Cloud's passed out in the flower garden with Tifa. His geostigma acted up again, & he lost consciousness of from the pain. I'll go to the Forgotten Capital, & you go wake up Cloud & Tifa.". & he disappeared out the door without another word._

_Wow. Bossy much?_


	12. Chapter 12

_After I got Cloud & Tifa up, I explained to them what the situation was._

_Cloud immediately took off to the Forgotten Capital, while I healed Tifa & got myself a glass of water._

_About ten minutes after Cloud's departure, Vincent apparently became involved with the battle, because the pangs started up in my chest again. I considered calling him, but decided against it. __**He's not in big trouble. If he was, the pangs would be much more uncomfortable... **__I tensed up against my will._

_The pangs stopped a few minutes later, & I relaxed. But then there was a crash somewhere in the city. "Once the action gets started, it's endless, isn't it?", I mumbled while I stood up with a glass of water in my hand, heading toward the window._

_Tifa giggled from the base of the stairs. "It seems like that, doesn't it?", she said, in response to my question. She walked quickly to the window just as I reached it._

_"What the hell is that...?", I muttered quietly to myself, looking at this ugly silver-plated monster invading the city. I could hear screams in the distance._

_"Who knows. Let's go fight it.", said Tifa brightly & adjusted her gloves. She race out the door, determined to take down whatever was it the city. I paused, then yelled up the stairs, "Stay here!", & followed Tifa toward the city._

_Shortly after we left, we encountered the Silver-Plated Monster of Evil. I secretly decided to call it Mr. SilverPants, just for my own amusement._

_Mr. SilverPants was in the middle of the city, surrounded by orphans that seemed to be in a deep trance. Denzel was one of them._

_"Denzel! Come on! Run!", Marlene urged Denzel from beside him, tugging on his arm. Denzel didn't even acknowledge that Marlene was there._

_"Denzel! Marlene!", Tifa exclaimed & ran to them._

_I called to Marlene, telling her to come with me. I led her to a safe area & told her to stay in this area. She nodded & I turned around to face Mr. SliverPants about 100 meters away._

_That's when everything began to speed up, like I hit the fast-forward button on life._

_The first thing I saw was Mr. SilverPants generating a big blue ball of...Something. I knew it was dangerous, though, because what else would come from a silver-plated monster thing guarded by a bunch of small orphans stuck in a trance than a dangerous-looking Blue Ball of Doom?_

_After I saw that, it skipped to the monster thing shooting the Blue Ball of Doom directly at Tifa, & Tifa getting knocked out, along with Denzel._

_Then suddenly Denzel was in front of Mr. SilverPants in a position as if he was going to fight it. I was going to yell out, but then Barret came out of nowhere & began protecting Denzel._

_& that's when I noticed that everyone was here except Cloud, & I realized that Vincent was next to me, saying something that I didn't quite register for a few seconds._

_I collapsed._

_Vincent caught me before I hit the ground face-first. "Remi?", he asked urgently._

_I didn't answer. I had no idea why I was acting this way. It was so...weird._

_I suddenly had the urge to cry._

_I didn't._

_Instead, I sucked it up & blinked a few times. I stood up straight & took a deep, cleansing breath. What's going on with me?_

_I looked at Vincent who had a severely confused look on his face. "Sorry.", I said emotionlessly._

_That's when I finally noticed that my neck & chest were in pain. Like, serious pain. I grabbed the base of my neck & bent over. I grunted painfully. "Remi, what is it?", Vincent asked incredulously. But I couldn't answer. I didn't __**know**__ the answer._

_I removed my hand from my neck & whispered, "Nothing.". Then I pulled out my gun & took off toward Mr. SilverPants._

_Everyone was bouncing back & forth off of Mr. SilverPants, trying to at least slow the thing down. It seemed like the thing was freakin' invincible, because nothing we did caused it any harm._

_I aimed my .48 caliber at it's face & shot, not even checking to see if it made contact. Then I jumped up, aimed my katana at it's face & brought it down. Hard. It screeched & threw me off. I landed gracefully on my feet, while studying the monster carefully. It continued on as if I never touched it. No freakin' way._

_I was about to strike again when I heard Barret exclaim, "It's about time, bitch!"._

_I turned to his voice & saw Cloud standing above Barret with his sword in hand. He was glaring at the beast._

_"Damn right.", I stated angrily, & Barret flashed me a grin._

_Cloud attacked Mr. SilverPants head on, & fought with it pretty damn bravely. In the end, he managed to defeat the stupid thing with the same blue energy stuff as the monster used as a weapon._

_After the monster was defeated, Cloud returned to the motorcycle he rode to the city with, & quickly explained what he was about to do._

_"Kadaj & his gang are fleeing the city with 'mother'.", Cloud summarized. "I'm going to pursue them.", he finished & sped off._

_Cid came by with his helicopter a few minutes later & told us we were going to find Cloud & aid him in his fight._

_Once we were all in the aircraft, I went to the bathroom so I could see my neck & chest in the mirror. The bathroom was a small baby-blue room with crappy toilet paper. It reminded me of those airplane bathrooms, which normally suck. At least it had a mirror, though._

_I took off my shirt swiftly & saw, all down my neck, chest, & partially my right shoulder, some grayish stuff on my skin. When I touched it, I got dizzy & pain wracked through my body. _

_"Geostigma...", I whispered distressfully._


	13. Chapter 13

_Vincent's Profile_

_A second or two after Remi disappeared into the bathroom, I knew something happened. Something big that she found out. something drastically important._

_When she finally came out of the bathroom, the pangs that had started nearly a minute ago still hadn't stopped. Her disposition seemed more standoffish, more cold than usual, as if she was really trying to be what she thought she was._

_I considered going over to her & asking, but if she needed to tell me, she would._

_No one else seemed to notice her odd behavior. She avoided everyone & walked straight to the window on the opposite side of where I was. I stared at her for a moment, & then went back to looking out the window._

_I tried to _not_ think of what Remi was so worried about, but it was no use. I just couldn't stop thinking about why Remi was so distraught. The pangs were still going steady, but at least they weren't getting any more painful._

_"Hey! There's Cloud! Who's he fighting...?", Yuffie interrupted my thoughts. I looked out the window, searching for Cloud & his attacker. When I spotted him, I recognized his attacker to be Kadaj. But where were his two other brothers?_

_"Cloud, I brought you materia!", Yuffie yelled through the window. Then the helicopter shook & she lost her balance._

_"Don't shake it!", scolded Yuffie when she caught herself._

_"Oy, Cid! Hurry & let us down!", Barret told Cid._

_"Shut up! Just jump! Jump!", said Cid, annoyed._

_"Let them fight it out.", I said quietly._

_Everyone paused, & then Yuffie broke the silence. "Wha?", she said incredulously. _

_I began explaining my reasoning._

_"Kadaj is the spirit of Sephiroth. You could say he's kind of like a larva."._

_Yuffie cut me off. "Larva? Bug? He's a __**bug**__?!"._

_"Calm down, princess!", Cait Sith jumped up & down on Red._

_"You're saying that he will turn into Sephiroth one day?", asked Red seriously._

_"Hey, do you think Cloud knows that?", Tifa asked._

_"Probably.", I answered. I saw Remi nod from the corner of my eye._

_"Of course he knows...", she said quietly._

_"I see...", said Tifa & went back to watching the fight. "Let's leave them alone."._

_"I don't understand! Explain!", Yuffie commanded._

_"It's man's talk.", Cid told Yuffie._

_"Discrimination! __**Discriminaaaaation**__!!", Yuffie shouted angrily._

_Sith covered his ears. "Calm down, Princess!"._

_"We men don't understand it either!", Barret said._

_"Two years ago...", Tifa started suddenly. "That strong emotion that Cloud felt during the last battle...Though it was just two years ago, somewhere along the way, he lost that feeling. I think that it brought him back to us.", Tifa finished thoughtfully._

_"Psh...I'll wait ten minutes.", spoke Barret angrily, eager to fight._

_I heard Remi sigh quietly & saw her put a hand on her shoulder & squeezed._

_"Cloud sure is a pain, just as always, huh?", Yuffie said with a sigh._

_"He's honest.", Tifa said smartly & grinned. Cid brought the aircraft away from the developing fight._

_"Ten minutes...", muttered Barret._

_Remi walked out of the room, & I decided that now was a good time to ask her about what was going on. She probably wouldn't tell me on her own, anyway._

_I found her in the bathroom with the door open. She was leaning against the wall casually, like she knew I was coming._

_"It's nothing...", she whispered quietly, knowing I was going to ask. "I'm worried about the kids at Tifa's. We left them alone there..." She ended quietly, closing her eyes. I knew that was bullshit, & she knew I knew._

_"Oy! Look at this!", I heard Yuffie yell in the other room._

_Remi was past me & out the bathroom door before Yuffie had finished her outburst. I heaved a sigh & pinched the bridge of my nose, then followed Remi into the other room._

_The sky was a dark, dark grey. It was covered in clouds & looked as if it was going to drop foot-long hailstone three inches thick._

_"What do you think is happening...?", Tifa asked worriedly. "They just suddenly...Appeared."._

_"Sephiroth.", Remi concluded seriously, & everyone noticed the dark magic emitting from her hand & lower arm. "You were completely right about Kadaj changing,", Remi said to me. "But instead of it happening 'some day',", she quoted Red's words. " It happened today. ", she finished matter-of-factly. The transparent black glow vanished from her arm & hand._

_Fallen angels can identify what type of magic is taking place & who's giving it off anytime, as long as the control whatever type of magic is being given off, too. So since Sephiroth is emitting dark magic, Remi can identify it & who's using it, because she is a darkness user, too. But if someone was using fire magic, she wouldn't be able to identify the user or whatever type of magic it is unless she sees the fire & it's user, because she isn't a fire user._

_Everyone was silent for a couple seconds, then Barret said, "I give him five minutes, then.". Everyone agreed reluctantly, & Remi leaned against the window, clutching her upper arm in pain. She shut her eyes tightly. A shiver ran up my spine, & the pangs in my chest had increased dramatically & became very, __**very**__ painful. I bent over & gasped. The pangs had never gotten this extreme before._

_Then Remi collapsed, & the pangs stopped immediately._


	14. Chapter 14

_Vincent's Profile_

_"Remi-chan!", I heard Tifa & Yuffie exclaim & began running to her, but I was already there, supporting her unconscious body on my chest._

_Tifa got onto her knees & saw that Remi passed out holding her shoulder, so she pulled Remi's sleeve up examined her arm._

_"Geostigma!", Yuffie said, surprised._

_I should've known. What else would've caused her so much pain in her arm & she couldn't heal? I sucked in my breath & pulled her closer to my chest. I should have __**known**__._

_Tifa examined Remi's body further, & saw that it was from her upper arm to the base of her neck & top of her chest, which she was covering with a turtleneck she had pulled on in the bathroom..._

_"So far along, too...Why didn't she tell us? This is killing her!", Tifa said, confused & slightly hurt._

_I grit my teeth. If I still had a beating heart, it probably would have exploded in my chest right then._

_"I don't think she...knew about it until less than a half an hour ago...", I said quietly & looked down._

_"How could she not know? This should have been developing for months! _Years_!" Yuffie said._

_"It must have been growing while we were off of Midgar...Maybe it only shows up when we're on Midgar.", I thought out loud._

_"What about the pain?", asked Cid, who I completely forgot about until now._

_"She's been busy. __We've__ been busy. She might not have noticed the pain until now, since we're on Midgar & the pain intensifies...?", I said, still thinking._

_"That's probably why...", said Barret._

_"Remi-chan's really sick with this stuff Vincent-san. It really is killing her.", Tifa said seriously. I nodded._

_"What are we going to do?", I asked Tifa._

_"We can't do anything. There isn't a cure, or anything. We just have to wait...& hope.", She said sadly & stood up._

_I pulled Remi up & wrapped my arms around her waist, & waited. But I didn't hope._

_I wouldn't dare to hope._


	15. Chapter 15

_Remi's Profile_

_I was floating._

_But, then again, I wasn't._

_I mean, I was...But I wasn't._

_I was on my back, & I wasn't moving, but I felt like I was on something hard, but warm. _

_But when I would move my arm, it wouldn't touch anything. It'd just be in air._

_You know what I mean?_

_Psh, how would you know? __**I**__ don't even know._

_Anyway, I could tell I was in a very bright-white place. I'm not sure, though, because my eyes were pretty much super glued shut. I couldn't open them even if I used my hands._

_"Remi-chan, I haven't seen you in so long! I had no idea you had geostigma...", said a voice I recognized immediately._

_"Aer...ith?", I whispered very, very quietly._

_"Aah, you remember!", said Aerith jovially._

_"First one to finally realize it, too.", I heard a man say, amused._

_"...Er...", I whispered quietly._

_"I'm Zack, Cloud's friend. & yes, I'm 'dead' too, like Aerith.", said the man. Upon hearing this, I heard a 'thump' & a grunt from Zack. I guessed that Aerith hit him._

_I knew Aerith through Cloud. She was with him when I first met both of them. They didn't mention anything about Zack, though._

_I felt one of them place a hand on my forehead._

_"You don't belong here, Remi-chan.", I heard Aerith's soft voice speak to me._

_"Then where do I belong?", I asked, equally softly & somewhat sadly._

_"Where do you belong? You belong anywhere you want to. You don't belong here because in your heart, you have some place completely different you wish to belong. This place is just not your place.", she said quietly & took her hand away._

_"Then where is my place? I don't fit in much of anywhere.", I whispered._

_"It's not exactly a place you belong to as it is who you belong with."_

_"Then who do I belong with?", I felt my heart beat faster against my will. One person flashed into my mind, but I dismissed it._

_"It's not my place to tell you.", Aerith said kindly. "But I promise that you will find who you are looking for."._

_"It was nice to meet you.", Zack said sincerely._

_"& it was nice to see you again.", added Aerith. "But it's time for you to go. Happy hunting!", giggled Aerith._

_The bright white light that was leaking through my eyelids slowly faded to black. _

_"Greetings to Cloud!", I heard Zack & Aerith say in unison to me, & then everything just disappeared._

_'But I promise you will find who you are looking for...', I remembered Aerith's words. That could mean a number of people, but mainly two people came to mind; Orochimaru & Vincent._

_Orochimaru is a given, but why would I think of Vincent? I already have him, & he's never left me for too long before...Physically._

_Mentally, I've never been able to crack his code, y'know? He's never really told me anything. But then again, that's pretty much what I'm like; Mysterious, quiet, strong, & I don't talk about my past. Vincent is like my clone, only male-style. But I still told him most of what's happened to me...Though he's always kept quiet. Everything I know about Vincent I know through Cloud._

_'What's this...Wet feeling on my skin...?'..._

_I found out that I could hear voices in the distance, but what were they saying? I shook my head lightly, & it felt like it was a hundred pounds._

_'I guess...I'm waking up...'_


	16. Chapter 16

_Remi's Profile_

_I opened my eyes & was greeted with a bright warm light. I squinted painfully & mumbled something incoherent._

_"What was that?" asked a familiar voice._

_I coughed loudly, surprised._

_"Vincent?" I gasped hoarsely._

_"Who else?" he asked, amused._

_I opened my eyes again & struggled to stand in the waist-deep water, but failed miserably. Vincent caught me from behind._

_I tried to remember why I was in this pool of really cold water, but I couldn't._

_"It could be a number of different people," I began in response to his question. "Tifa, Cloud, Yuffie-" I made a face. "- Hell, it could be Tsukangi himself!" I exclaimed, looking around the little pond of water we were in._

_"Well, would Tsukangi be holding your weak, unconscious body in water waist-deep & soaking his now-ruined pants just to save your life?" Vincent questioned, & I looked up at him for the first time since I came to._

_That when I remembered feeling the consistent pangs while I was unconscious. I mean, I didn't really notice them while I was 'with' Aerith & Zack, but now that I think about it, I remember the annoying little bugger._

_Vincent face was covered in relief. Like he was buried up to his head with it. I must've really caused him a lot of stress, but how? I didn't think the geostigma was that terrible._

_I bit my lip. "How bad was the geostigma?" I whispered._

_I saw the relief & amusement in his eyes vanish immediately. "You were dying." he replied monotonely._

_He must've felt so betrayed. I lied to him & kept something vitally important from him. I knew I should have told him, but I didn't know how._

_I let out a long breath & opened my mouth to apologize._

_"You're alive, & that's all that matters." Vincent said, causing me to shut my mouth._

_"You almost didn't live, Remi." Vincent began. "If you didn't live, I don't know what I would've done. It would mean that I failed as your protector, & my purpose of living would no longer have existed. I don't know what I would do if you ever...Stopped existing. I honestly don't know. So until I do, I promise you I will make sure you live, & that means that you will live forever, because I'll never know what I would do if you died."_

_I stared at him for a few seconds. That was either really, really sweet, or really, really cheesy. But either way, it was pretty damn deep._

_I slowly leaned toward him, cautiously. I rested the side of my head on his chest & brought my arms around his shoulders. _

_Then I whispered, "Everything ends. No matter what. I'm sorry for misleading you & momentarily making you think my ending was...sooner than anticipated. Gomenasai. (I'm so sorry.)."_

_Then I pushed away just as slowly as I had hugged him & I looked up at him. His expression was unreadable, but I could tell he was feeling...Something._

_I looked toward Cloud & his group & saw they were all rejoicing over something. I caught a few of the shouts emitting from everyone's mouths._

_"...It's cured!..."_

_"...Geostigma..."_

_"...Lifestream water..."_

_I gasped & pulled my sleeve up to my shoulder quickly. In less than a second, I came to a shocking conclusion. My geostigma was gone...!_

_"Na...ni?" I muttered, dumbfounded._

_"This water that we're standing in right now is the only cure for geostigma that we know of. We don't know why or how it came to be, but it doesn't really matter to us right now." Vincent explained, still not showing any emotion._

_"That's what you meant when you said you were 'saving my life'..." I whispered, & then looked up at him._

_"Arigato (Thanks)." I said seriously._

_He gazed at me for a second._

_"No problem." He replied quietly._

_Day's Later_

_"Breakfast!!" Tifa yelled from the bottom of the steps._

_Since everything that went on two days ago, things haven't been so uptight with everyone. Cloud's more relaxed & open, & everything returned to like it was before I brought the kids from earth here._

_But of course it wouldn't stay like this. Not when you have my history. Not when you have Tsukangi & Adam around._

_I was just walking down the steps when Barret burst through the curtain/door._

_"Remi-chan! There's a strange-lookin' guy patrolling the streets in Midgar. He's got some heavy-duty stuff on & got's that sinister look in his eyes. I've never seen 'im before, so do ya know 'im?" Barret rushed the words out of his mouth._

_I froze. Even with that short explanation with Barret's broken-up English, I recognized who he was describing._

_I looked at Barret with my dark-orange shape shifting eyes._

_"Who could forget anyone with those sinful, wrath-filled eyes Adam has...?" I said nearly inaudibly & called for Vincent._


	17. Chapter 17

_Vincent was behind me in an instant. I had already departed up the stairs again, & he was following me noiselessly. Calvin & Rachel had already left their rooms & were about to continue down the stairs when they saw me rushing up to the at full speed. They paused, but didn't have time to move, so I grabbed their wrists firmly & pulled them to Mrs. Jacobs' room, which I burst into the moment I got to the door. Mrs. Jacobs was just standing up from the bed when I came in & practically threw Calvin & Rachel at her._

_"STAY HERE.", I commanded strictly. Then I turned to Vincent._

_"Portal." I said simply but firmly. Then I disappeared out the door & gathered everyone else, excluding Cloud & his group._

_One we were all in Mrs. Jacobs' room, though, Barret called me from downstairs._

_"Oy, Remi! Get yer ass down here! What'er ya about to do?!"_

_I growled angrily, & then disappeared out of the room & down the stairs. I ran right up to Barret & spoke quickly._

_"I'm leaving with Vincent & Mrs. Jacobs' group. I made a promise with them stating that I would keep them safe until the day I end, & I plan on keeping that promise. So, in order to do just that, we're leaving."_

_Barret looked at me & made a face, as if disgusted._

_"You're fleeing?"_

_"Yes, I am fleeing, with my tail between my freaking legs."_

_We stared at each other for a long moment, as if daring each other to speak. Barret accepted the unspoken challenge._

_"Can't we just fight 'im, with all of us?"_

_"No."_

_"Why?"_

_"He'll __kill__ you."_

_"Not all of us."_

_I grunted in frustration. He's too stubborn for his own good!_

_"He could kill everyone in this building in one attack, & his boss could do even more damage. You have no idea what the members of Ashi can do."_

_"How would you know?"_

_"I __was__ a member of Ashi."_

_Everyone knew that already, but I guess Barret forgot, because complete surprise flashed across his face._

_"Remi, the portal is ready." Vincent said quietly from upstairs, but I managed to hear it._

_I turned & said, "If you meet Adam & he asks about Remi Santoni, you've never heard the name before, okay? I don't need another three or so death's on my conscience." & I disappeared up the stairs._

_Everyone was standing around the portal, waiting._

_"Vincent, where does the portal lead?" I asked urgently._

_"Konohagakure..." he replied._

_So I'm gonna get to see Naruto & Sasuke again, eh? Last time I saw them, they were just getting out of the Academy...I wonder how old they are now..._

_"Well, who's going first?" asked Mrs. Jacobs._

_"Me, naturally." I replied & walked right into the spinning colorful ball of portal-ness._

_I spun in air for a few seconds & I couldn't breathe. I pulled my limbs up into the fetal position & waited for the compact of me hitting the ground._

_Once I landed, I started coughing & I stood shakily. I looked around & saw we were in a grassy clearing I recognized as somewhere outside of Konoha._

_Trees were everywhere, which didn't surprise me. I loved it here because it was so quiet & green & calm. Like humanity hadn't wrapped it's stinky little fingers around it yet. _

_There was a muffled 'thump' behind me, which was followed with another six. I turned around when the hum of the portal ceased._

_"Welcome to Konohagakure. Or, the outside of it. The real village is just over there-" I pointed toward the entrance. "-which we will be going into soon. You can call it Konoha or the Leaf Village. We'll be staying here for a week or two, but nothing is set in stone. Hope you enjoy your stay." I said official-like, & then began walking toward the big arch that had some kanji characters on it, probably saying "Konohagakure"._

_I sighed. I really didn't want to see Naruto again. He was such an obnoxious, annoying little kid that just wouldn't leave me alone. Sasuke, on the other hand, was a quiet, calm kid that I took a liking to very quickly. Everyone else in Konoha really didn't catch my interest much. I was only there for a few days on a very minor mission. _

_Anyway, I was really, really, really hoping that this only lasted for one week. I don't think I could survive two._


	18. Chapter 18

_"Remi-chaaaan!" called an unfortunately familiar voice._

_'Aw, shit.' I turned around slowly, really hoping that I just imagined Naruto's voice in my head._

_I just barely got out of the blonde's way as he charged at me like a bull on crack. He rushed passed me & almost hit the wall behind me, but put his hands in front of him just before he collided into the wall._

_He spun around, completely unaware of my obvious avoidances of him. His smile lay happy & relaxed on his face._

_"Ah, I knew it was you! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in so long. You missed a lot..." I droned him out by focusing on his physical features. He was...Really different._

_He looked about 14-16 years old now. His headband was black with the leaf metal plate in the middle. His clothing was orange mostly with black strips if cloth lining it. His facial features were the same, if not more masculine. Though, I could tell he hadn't changed much personality-wise. Not at all._

_"...Did you come back again while I was gone? You probably did. Did anyone tell you that I was training with one of the legendary sannin? Of course, if I wasn't getting ready to bring Sasuke back-" his expression darkened, & then brightened in less than a second. "-I wouldn't be trained by Jiraiya-sensei. I was gone for a long time. Do you still not like ramen? Because it still is really g-" I cut him off._

_"Sasuke left?" I asked, only mildly interested._

_His expression darkened again. "Sasuke...Left the village two years ago to get power..." he trailed off._

_"Where would he get this power from?" I prodded, actually getting interested._

_"Orochimaru..." he said quietly, observing my face._

_I paused, & a blank look came across my face._

_'Orochimaru?'_

_'He's here?'_

_'He's here & he's luring people with power?'_

_That was about when I lost grip on reality for a few moments._

_I put my hand on the wall next to me, leaning on it heavily. I could hear Vincent's voice in the distance._

_"Remi...?"_

_I didn't answer. I was too far lost in my head to answer._

_Orochimaru. My uncle. The one who gave me this...Thing on my shoulder. He is here?_

_Has he given the cursed mark to anyone else? How strong has he became? Who has he murdered?_

_Where is he...?_

_I shook my head slowly, & clarity leaked back into my mind. When finally I 'came back', I realized that Vincent was holding my up slightly, & everyone else was staring at me confusedly._

_& that's when it sunk in._

_Orochimaru was __here__._

_My eyes turned red when I came to this obvious conclusion. Blood red._

_I shot up fast & Vincent barely had time to restrain me before I exploded._

_"Where is he?! Is he near here?! Give me a location & I'll find that son of a bitch myself!" I demanded._

_Vincent had to hold me tightly by the waist to keep me from getting up in Naruto's face._

_Naruto stuttered. "U-uh, it's n-not safe right n-now..." he trailed off when he saw my expression._

_"Who CARES?! I certainly don't! He'll never be safe around, so if I go now, I'll stop him & it will be safe! Goddamnit, tell me where he is!" I practically screamed._

_Vincent wrapped another arm across my chest & to my shoulder._

_"Relax, Remi. You'll get him in time." he whispered in my ear._

_After a second, logic seeped into my ear & sunk into my brain. He was right. I __will__ get him in time. _

_I relaxed in Vincent's grip & my eyes returned to black._

_"When are you going to attempt to bring back Sasuke?" I asked monotonely._

_"Er...Tomorrow around n-noon...?"_

_"I'm coming with, & so are these guys." I gestured to Vincent, Rachel, Calvin, Ken, Jaab, Alex, & Mrs. Jacobs. "here is the Hokage?"_

_"That building..." Naruto pointed to a crumbling red building with a kanji character on it._

_I nodded & walked past Naruto, assuming everyone else would follow, which they did._

_Finally, I will get my revenge._


	19. Chapter 19

_Ken's Profile_

_After we talked to Tsunade, the Hokage, she agreed to let us join Naruto's group & help them with the retrieval of Uchiha Sasuke. But the way Remi wedged herself so securely into this apparently dangerous trip made me think that there was a deeper meaning to this. I didn't ask, though. I was still stunned my Remi's outburst earlier._

_Anyways, right now, we're all scattered around this big hotel room, pretty much doing nothing. Jaab was sleeping, Mrs. Jacobs was at the window listening intently to something outside, Calvin was sitting on one of the seven beds in the big room, looking calm & deep in thought. Alex look confused & spaced out, & Rachel as leaning on the wall, looking severely disturbed & scared by something unknown to me. The mood of the room was a bit odd, though. The air was thick with confusion & surprise. But I wasn't really interested in any of this right now._

_What I __**was**__ interested in right now was how the hell I moved the clear, empty cup on the sink without even being near it. I mean, I was just staring at it & thinking about how thirsty I was when it moved toward me, as if saying, 'Yes, I know you're thirsty. You want me, don't you?'_

_How dehydrated _am_ I?_

_Calvin's Profile_

_Once I collapsed onto one of the hotel room's beds, I began plugging things in in my mind & trying to figure out why Remi is so desperate to get on Naruto's team & find this 'Sasuke' kid._

_Immediately I knew this was linked to Orochimaru, because her reaction when Naruto mentioned that name was so off._

_When I figured out that connection, I began thinking of possibilities on how she was connected to this person. First, I thought was father, or best friend. I ruled out father because I remembered the picture Tsunade showed us, & they looked nothing alike except for the hair color & fangs, which I knew weren't even vampire fangs._

_I ruled out best friend because he was much older than she was, & he really wasn't referred to as a friend between Tsunade, Vincent & Remi._

_Nephew? Too old._

_Cousin? Maybe._

_Uncle? Probable._

_So, why is Remi so set on killing him? He might've killed someone close to her when she was young, or did something to her that was worth revenge. Or both._

_I guessed that he killed either one or both of her parents, because she never has talked about them._

_But she's never talked about her family at all, so it could've been her whole family._

_I shivered. Who would do that?_

_Rachel's Profile_

_'...Orochimaru will die...'_

_'...Nephew? Too old...'_

_'...They cannot be speaking English!...'_

_'...What's with all these emotions...?...'_

_AH! I'm on the verge of banging my head against the wall! What the hell is with this crap? Why am I hearing voices in my head?!_

_'...Uncle? Probable...' _

_'...That's Sasuke? Whoa...'_

_'...How can I understand this...?...'_

_'...Sasuke is brought back & I get revenge...' _

_Damnit! Go away!_

_AAH!_

_Alex's Profile_

_A few minutes after we were settled in the hotel room, I felt a sudden wave of emotions flood me. Scared, calm, thoughtful, depressed, confused, even hostility. I was overwhelming._

_'What the hell?'_

_Even if the emotions came at the same time, I knew which as which in a matter of seconds._

_'What's with all these emotions...?'_

_I looked up & at every one of the former Academic Olympic team members, & realization hit me._

_Jaab's Profile_

_I was surrounded in green. Green grass, green trees, green everything._

_Except for Remi._

_Remi was covered in red. Well, mostly. She was actually covered in red liquid that made the air stink of copper._

_'Why is she bleeding?'_

_Shortly after I thought this, I found the source; She had been stabbed with a sword through the abdomen by 'Orochimaru'._

_Rachel was screaming & everyone else seemed to be frozen. Vincent was the first to take action by catching her when 'Orochimaru' pulled his sword out & jumped back, chucking evilly._

_"Finish them, Sasuke..." said 'Orochimaru' though his fit of laughter._

_A boy of about 14 or 15 years old stepped out of the bushes & glanced at everyone. He had raven-black hair & a white kimono-like thing on. He looked strong & cold. He reminded me of Remi because of his facial expression; Distant & standoff-ish._

_'That's Sasuke? Whoa...'_

_'Orochimaru' disappeared & Sasuke slowly & deliberately took out his katana. Naruto, a man with a mask over half of his face, & a girl with pink hair & green eyes readied themselves for attack. Vincent & Remi were in similar positions, only Remi was hunched over & holding her wound._

_& then the forest of green turned into a forest of crimson._

_Mrs. Jacobs' Profile_

_"Konbanwa!"_

_"Konbanwa."_

_I saw a Japanese couple greet each other out the window. I was surprised to notice that I understood that they said, 'Good evening' to each other, but I brushed it off._

_'I probably learned it from Remi & Vincent's talking.'_

_My mind wandered for a few minutes, not really thinking of anything. I was brought back to earth when I realized I could understand clearly what the couple outside were saying, even though I never learned Japanese._

_"How was your weekend?"_

_"Great. But I missed you..."_

_"I called, didn't I?"_

_The couple continued & I was completely mystified to find out I knew what they were saying, even in Japanese._

_'They can't be speaking English!'_

_This isn't possible. Why can I understand them?_

_"Would you like to get some dinner?" the man asked the woman in Japanese._

_'How can I understand this? It isn't possible...'_

_& that's when Rachel interrupted my thoughts by screaming._


	20. Chapter 20

_Remi's Profile_

_When Rachel screamed, I was so far in thought that for a few seconds I had no idea what happened. Everyone was crowded around her in the corner except for Jaab & I, & Jaab was in the process of crawling off the bed he was previously sleeping on. He had a confused look on his face, probably wondering what woke him up._

_I stood & walked to Rachel quickly & cut through the small crowd like a knife. I kneeled in front of Rachel & waited for her to calm down a little. _

_She just sat there sobbing for the longest time, & when she finally did stop, she still was sniffling & coughing occasionally._

_"What happened?" I questioned her, & she looked up._

_"The v-vo-voices...-cough-...T-they are so...Loud! -sniff- Why won't they s-stop talking?!" She stuttered & fresh tears leaked out of her eyes._

_I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion._

_"...What voices...? What are they saying?" I asked._

_"T-they were all saying s-something different be-before...But now they're all saying simi-similar things...!" She rushed out, & choked slightly._

_"What are they saying?" I repeated._

_"Most of them are s-saying -sniff- stuff l-like, 'What's wrong w-with her?' & 'Is sh-she okay?' & stuff like t-that..." She trailed off, & my confusion vanished._

_'She can read minds...?'_

_I stood up & looked at everyone in the room seriously._

_"Has anyone else noticed anything odd pertaining to yourself?" I asked, expecting only a few of them/ none of them to answer._

_To my surprise, everyone raised their hands except for Calvin._

_I pointed to Ken. "What?" I interrogated._

_He squirmed under everyone's confused stare. "Erm..." He began._

_"A few minutes after we came into the hotel room & we were all settled, I noticed that I was thirsty. I was too lazy to really get up, so I just stared at that plastic cup-" He pointed to a cup on the kitchen sink. "-& after a second, it...Moved." He ended uncertainly._

_I nodded & moved on. I pointed to Alex. "Go." I commanded._

_"Uh...Well, when we were all relaxed & settled in the hotel room about a half an hour ago, I had this sudden...Rush of emotions that I didn't have an explanation for...It was completely random & surprised the hell out of me."_

_"Okay. How about you?" I pointed to Mrs. Jacobs._

_"I can understand Japanese." She said curtly._

_I stared at her for a moment, & then said, "__Ich spreche nur ein klein wenig Deutsch." (I only speak a little German.)_

_"I didn't know you spoke any German at all." Mrs. Jacobs said automatically, & then a look of shock took over her face._

_I just nodded & then pointed to Jaab._

_"I had a dream where we were fighting Orochimaru-" My eyes widened & turned a dark red. "-b-but you got stabbed through the abdomen & Rachel was screaming & Orochimaru got away & Sasuke took over & then everything went red & there was a lot of blood..." Jaab's eyes glazed over & he leaned on the wall._

_"Don't like blood?" I asked him emotionlessly._

_"Hate it." he replied, breathing hard._

_I got some water & gave it to him. He gulped it down eagerly._

_It was quiet for awhile as I thought about everything that they said. Then I looked up at Calvin._

_"Are you sure nothing odd has happened to you lately?" I asked, because he was the only one who was...Normal right now._

_He thought for a moment, then said, "Yeah."_

_I nodded & became quiet again._

_About five minutes of staring at the floor later, I spoke._

_"I have come to a conclusion." I said dramatically._

_Everyone looked up._

_I pointed at everyone as I said their ability._

_"You are a mind reader, you have telekinesis, you can manipulate emotions, you are multiple-language knower-" I smirked, not really knowing how to say that Mrs. Jacobs could speak & understand different languages. "-and you can see the future."_

_Everyone stared at me oddly except for Ken & Alex, who first were completely quiet, & then grinned at me crazily._

_"We're special!" they exclaimed in unison._


	21. Chapter 21

_I sat down slowly on the dark red squishy couch that the hotel room contained, & asked everyone to sit so I could explain._

_They sat. _

_I was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain all of this. I mean, I didn't even have an explanation. This never happened before._

_After a minute, I said, "I have a theory. I don't know exactly how you all suddenly have these abilities, but I can guess-"_

_"What I think is that simply your powers have rubbed off on some of us & the powers have enhanced our strongest aspects from normal, human-like kind of stuff to something more." Calvin interrupted._

_I opened my mouth, & then shut it. He came to a solution quicker than I could! Realization shot through my brain like those 'sliders' from White Castle do when you...-ahem-...eat them, & I looked at Calvin knowingly._

_"Calvin, I was wrong about you not having an ability, but I need to experiment to see if I am right. What is 20 x 35?"_

_"700." He answered quickly._

_I nodded. "You have the ability of knowing. Intelligence."_

_His eyes widened, & then he grinned. "Coool!"_

_I sighed. Well, at least they aren't completely useless._

_I wondered what Vincent would think of all this when he comes back from wherever he is. Surprising, maybe. Confusion, definitely. I dunno._

_"Mrs. Jacobs, you have the ability to speak every single language there is, & you can understand every language there is."_

_She nodded, stunned._

_"Rachel, you can read people's minds, & you can probably communicate through the mind with anyone, too. Try to send me a message through your brain, or something."_

_She looked confused, & then she asked, "H-how?"_

_"Think of something to tell me & then just concentrate on trying to get it to me."_

_She nodded & took a deep breath. Then she stared at me & her face went pink-ish._

_First, there was nothing. & then I got it._

_'I. Want. To. Go. HOME!!'_

_I winced at the intensity of the message, & then nodded. "Got it..."_

_She grinned evilly._

_I looked at Ken. "Ken, you have telekinesis. You can move things with your mind. Try moving...something."_

_He looked over at the sink & very slowly, the faucet began turning. It only moved a few centimeters, but some water began dripping out anyway. He smirked & then made the faucet go back to it's original position. "I'll need to work on that, though. I could barely move it."_

_I sighed & then moved on to Alex. "You can manipulate emotions. You can make a person happy, sad, angry, etc. You can also tell what kind of emotion the person you're focused on is feeling. Try reading my emotion."_

_He grinned & then focused on me. After a moment, he said, "You are...angry &...focused...&...Not much else. Though I could feel other emotions from everyone else bleeding through."_

_I nodded & pointed to Jaab. "When you sleep from now on, you will have very realistic dreams that are actually from the future. The one you had just 20 minutes or so ago was probably what will happen when we look for Orochimaru,-" my eyes turned a dark shade of red. "- but we can prevent it now that we know it could happen."_

_Jaab smiled._

_I yawned. "It's been a...long day. Sleep sounds quite appealing right now, yes?"_

_There was a chorus of 'yes'' & grunts, & I stood up from the couch. I didn't really have the intention of sleeping, but the kids & teacher are probably really tired. I went over to my bed & laid on it, feigning sleep. After ten minutes, I sensed that everyone was asleep._

_I clambered off the bed quietly & walked to the door, opening it. I silently stepped out & closed the door softly, not bothering to lock it._

_Once outside of the hotel room, I disappeared down the hotel stairs & out the door into the warm Konoha air. I looked left, then right. It doesn't really matter which way I go, I just needed to move. _

_I walked toward the forest area beyond Konohagakure. When I got there, I climbed the tallest tree I could find all the way to the top. Once at the top, I gazed out at the sleeping village ahead of me. I noticed that Vincent was on top of a tall building a few ten yards away. I guess he noticed me, too, because he stood up from his crouching position & swiftly made his way toward my relaxing figure._

_"Are you sure the kids are safe without you?" Vincent asked me quietly when he came close enough for me to hear._

_"Of course. Konoha is almost always safe. That's why I love it here." I whispered back. _

_Vincent sat down on a thick branch next to the one I was standing on. I looked down at him, & he looked up at me._

_After a moment, I whispered, "What are we going to do?"_

_He stared at me, but didn't respond for quite awhile._

_Then he said, "I don't know."_

_We stayed like that for some time, just staring at each other, but keeping our faces carefully blank so neither of us could read the other's emotion._

_I felt a warm tear stream slowly down my cheek, & I saw Vincent's eyes widen in shock through my blurry sight._

_Then I broke down._

_Vincent's Profile_

_When I saw that one tear slide down her cheek, I knew right then that she was much more...delicate than she seemed to be on the outside. I jumped up to her side & enveloped her in a tight hug & she sobbed into my chest for what seemed like hours._

_I've never seen her cry before. Ever. She's always had that hard shell up & no one could ever bring it down. Now here she is, crying into my crimson cloak as if the world was ending. How many years' worth of tears has she bottled up? I don't think she's cried ever since her parents were killed by Orochimaru. _

_She pulled away from our small embrace & whispered almost inaudibly, "Thank you..."_

_& then she disappeared down the tree trunk & ran swiftly toward the hotel we were checked in to._

_I sighed & followed her slowly. One word kept playing through my mind, making loop-di-loops in my head._

_'Beautiful...'_


	22. Chapter 22

_Remi's Profile _

_By the time morning rolled around, I still hadn't gotten any sleep. Vincent was sitting on the edge of the bed, deep in thought about something. I was lying on the bed, leaning on the bedpost with one leg hanging off the side of the bed. I was still mulling over the events of last night. How long were we out there? What does Vincent think of me now? Does he think I'm weak?_

_I should just let this all go, but because of the unfortunate events that happened in my past, letting go is not my strong trait._

_I heard Jaab's heartbeat increase quickly, & then after a second, decrease to normal speed. He sat up a few moments later & looked at me seriously._

_"Sasuke doesn't get brought back to the village, & you get seriously injured to the point that you're on the brink of death." he said completely unemotionally, & then stood up & lumbered over to the bathroom._

_In the next half hour, everyone was up & had eaten breakfast. Vincent reported to Tsunade & found out that Naruto's group was up & ready for the trip. Vincent asked them to give us an hour to prepare._

_I asked Vincent to look after everyone while I went to buy a new katana & some shuriken. He replied with a quick nod & I was out the door in the next millisecond._

_Konoha always has been a warm place to reside. It's never been too hot, though. Just right. This is what I was thinking about on my way to some random weapon store._

_The sun was shining on my back lightly as I walked the opposite way of the famous yellow-&-red star. The ground under my boots was warm & the heat began leaking through the soles of my boots & I could feel it at the bottom of my feet. A few people were drifting around, from store to store, their eyes bright with happiness from a new day, a new start. Their auras gave off a feeling of anticipation & giddiness, while mine gave off a feeling of dark apprehension. I would be confronting Orochimaru in just a few days, & I could barely hide my excitement. Jaab may have seen me get hurt pretty badly, but if I killed Orochimaru in trade of my life, it would be worth it. It will be worth it._

_I turned right on one of Konoha's long, cracked & worn roads & found what I was looking for._

_I stepped inside the small weapon store & immediately picked up a group of five shuriken on a table next to the door. I walked farther into the store & found the isle holding the serious weapons._

_Guns, bombs, mines, kunai, daggers- Oh! here they are. Katanas._

_I picked up a slim but deadly sharp one & began walking toward the store clerk, but another weapon caught my attention. I backtracked slowly & stopped in front of another type of katana, the __ninjatō. I put down the original katana I was planning to buy, & lifted the ninjato. It felt light in my hand & glinted in the sunlight that was streaming in from the store windows. It was smaller than the katana, but had the sharp characteristic of a katana. I decided to try it out._

_I walked quickly back to the front of the store & bought my shuriken, katana, & some extra bullets for my .45 caliber. _

_Once out of the store, I noticed that we were supposed to meet Naruto, Sakura, & Kakashi at Konoha's gate in about 20 minutes._

_I shoved the shuriken in a pouch on my leg & pushed the ninjato into the waist of my pants. Then I ran quickly but silently the rest of the way to the hotel room._

_Everyone was ready when I arrived. We left minutes later._

_"How long is this trip going to last?" asked Mrs. Jacobs as we hurried through the nearly deserted streets of Konoha, toward its main front gates._

_"Two days until we approach Orochimaru, probably about one or two days for everyone to recuperate from the battle, & two days to get back." I answered roughly._

_"That is, if everything goes smoothly." Rachel interjected grumpily._

_"It will." I answered her fiercely, my eyes turning completely red. _

_Not dark red. Not crimson. _

_Red. _

_"It __will__."_


	23. Chapter 23

_We met Kakashi, Naruto, & Sakura soon after our departure from the hotel. They all had backpacks on, probably containing food, bandages, sleeping equipment, & weapons. Mrs. Jacobs' group had similar packs on, mostly filled with food, sleeping bags, & liquid._

_"So, is everyone ready?" Kakashi questioned us boredly._

_"Hai!" exclaimed Naruto, eager for the next few days, & Sakura smiled broadly. Other than that, there wasn't much other reaction to Kakashi's words. Kakashi turned on his heel & slowly walked out of the village. Everyone followed._

_For the next few hours or so, it was silent between everyone. There wasn't much to talk about, anyway. Everybody knew what was going to happen & what to expect, & everything._

_"Remi-chan...?" Sakura asked timidly. I looked up & stared straight at her. She jumped slightly, but continued. "What's it like to...Jump between worlds...?" she asked, & I could tell that Naruto & Kakashi were paying attention, anticipating my answer._

_I thought for a moment, & then tried to explain. "Well, when you first enter the portal, you feel like there's pressure pushing on every part of your body. Your ears feel clogged & the saliva in your mouth feels non-existent. Then, after that moment of being uncomfortable, the pain slowly leaks into your body. Whenever I go through the portal, I pull my knees up to my chest & wrap my arms around them, just to try & make my form smaller. It's like being squeezed through a hole the size of your fingernail."_

_Sakura looked at me blankly, & then looked at everyone else. "Really?" she asked, surprised. They nodded. "Painful..." she whispered & turned around._

_I sighed quietly. Well, at least she tried to stir up a conversation. I guess she's the only one in the mood for talking..._

_Around tenish, we came across an expertly hidden clearing in the forest. I suggested we stay here for the night. _

_Kakashi started a fire in the middle of the clearing while everyone else set up camp. I was finished in seconds, so I helped my group with their sleeping bags. Once finished with that, I sat in front of the fire & lost myself in it. I became completely unaware of anything else other than the fire. It took me until the next morning to realize that I fell asleep sometime that night. I couldn't remember when._

_I woke up before anyone else, except for Vincent, who was leaning against a tree trunk on the opposite side I was on. He looked over at me when I sat up, & nodded at me in acknowledgement. Then he turned his head to the side & leaned his chin on his fist, resuming his previous position. I stood up & told him I would be right back. He didn't move, & said nothing._

_I walked past him & followed the sound of running water. I presumed it to be a river, but when I found the source of the sound, I found out that it was a small waterfall about the height of a kitchen counter. I sighed & sat on the bank, dipping my bare feet in the cool water. I checked my watch; 5:30A.M. Everyone should be up by 6 or 6:30A.M., so I decided to relax for a little bit._

_After about five minutes of being completely transfixed by the bubbling water, a thought dawned on me. I needed blood._

_I may be part fallen angel & part shape shifter, but the half of me that is a vampire can't live off of how much blood my shape shifter & fallen angel half conjures up. The good thing is that I can feed off of a few mice or something. I don't need a humans' blood to survive. I only need about half of all the blood a human makes, so that's about as much blood a monkey or whatever makes._

_I stood up slowly & shook my feet off. then I ran quickly into the forest & sniffed the air, trying to catch the scent of some kind of animal. I caught the scent of a female bear toward the north & I ran after it immediately. I caught up to it in seconds & bit into it's neck the moment I entrapped it. I ended it as fast as I could._

_On my way back the camp, I noticed that the temperature was a few degrees cooler than Konoha is, & I knew that we were farther from Konoha than we thought we were, which meant we were closer to Orochimaru then we thought. I paused mid-step & sniffed the air again. I didn't find any traces of Orochimaru's scent, or anything else out of the ordinary. I took a deep breath & continued toward my destination, the hair on my neck standing on end._

_When I arrived back at the camp, everyone was up & eating breakfast. Vincent could tell that the moment I stepped into the clearing that I had gotten myself fed. I looked at him & nodded my head curtly. Then I picked up a rice ball & bit into it. I finished it in seconds._

_Kakashi cleared his throat. "We'll stay here for about another hour & a half, then we'll pack up & continue our mission. I suggest you clean up in the river over there, because we might not find another one for a while.". He stood & walked in the direction of the river, disappearing into the trees quickly. Naruto followed, & I told Jaab, Calvin, Ken, & Alex to go with them too. The girls will go after the guys wash up. Vincent had vanished sometime during breakfast, so I guessed that he was cleaning up, also._

_I walked over to Rachel & Mrs. Jacobs. "While the boys are cleaning up, why don't you guys practice your new abilities? Mrs. Jacobs, you probably don't need any practice, except for if you're talking to someone who doesn't know your ability. Then, if that person speaks a different language that they think you don't know, you need to act like you don't understand them." Mrs. Jacobs nodded slowly, & I moved on to Rachel. "You need to practice on focusing on a person's mind, blocking out everything else. Try focusing on my thoughts, & mine only."_

_I cleared my mind of everything, & thought of one simple phrase._

_'Don't be such a crybaby.'_

_After a few moments, Rachel glared at me._

_"I am not a crybaby." she stated angrily. Mrs. Jacobs grinned._

_"Then don't act like one." I replied. "Did you hear Mrs. Jacobs' thoughts as you focused on mine?"_

_"Yeah...But it was like a fuzz...Like when you lose connection on a T.V., y'know?" _

_I nodded & said, "Keep focusing on mine & tell me when the fuzz goes away."_

_So for about half an hour, I kept thinking of random things & asking her if she heard Mrs. Jacobs' thoughts when she focused on mine. By the time 45 minutes rolled past & the guys came back, Rachel had pretty much mastered the ability of focusing on a persons' thoughts without hearing anyone else's._

_I took a fast bath & was out of the river before anyone else. I planned to help the boys with their abilities a little bit before we continued on our mission. I found the guys in a small circle talking to each other quietly._

_I walked up to them & sat down. "Ken, I want you to focus on something small & try to move it with your mind. Keep working on it until you can move it from one side of the clearing to the other."_

_He looked up, stunned. Then he nodded & focused on his backpack. I turned & pointed at Alex. "Focus on Ken's emotions & see if you can tell what he's feeling right now. Then try to make him happy or sad or whatever. Work on it until you can make him laugh at nothing or cry because of nothing."_

_He obeyed._

_I looked at Jaab & asked, "What did you dream of last night?"_

_He thought about it for a while, & then said, "I saw bits & pieces of stuff, but they were pretty meaningless."_

_"What did you see?"_

_"I saw...Sasuke fighting with Naruto, & Naruto was bleeding from the arm...& then I saw you pulling Sakura out of the way of a snake attack...Vincent was shooting & hit Sasuke in the leg...A lot of blood..." He trailed off. I nodded at him._

_"Try to remember anything else, if you can."_

_"'Kay..."_

_Finally, I looked at Calvin. I honestly didn't know what to tell him to do. I bit my lip, & said, "Just...Think of stuff that you want to know. Tell me if you can't get an answer to something...It'll probably be about someone's feelings or thoughts. Those are the only things you cannot get the answer to."_

_He nodded & his eyes became unfocused._

_I sighed & watched everyone working on their ability. I saw a backpack flop down into the fire pit, & I heard a groan from Ken, which turned into a laugh that Alex must've made Ken do. I smirked when I heard Ken curse at Alex & I saw Alex fly up in the air & then drop down on his bottom._

_I guess they aren't that bad._


	24. Chapter 24

_For half of the whole day, everyone was in a completely different world. Thinking about anything, I guess. Vincent was walking beside me, in the back of the small group. Kakashi was leading, with Naruto on his right, trailing him. Sakura was behind Kakashi, a little off to the left. Ken & Alex were walking next to each other, off to the right of Sakura, while Jaab was behind her. Calvin, Rachel, & Mrs. Jacobs were ahead of me to my left. We weren't in any particular formation, if you're wondering._

_I observed all of them & was wondering what everyone was thinking about that made them so occupied when a kunai whisked out from the forest, heading at me. I heard it coming a few seconds before I saw it, & I caught it with one hand when it got close enough to make contact. Kakashi spun around facing where the kunai came from, & Naruto & Sakura got in fighting positions around everyone. I ran up to Jaab. _

_"Is this where your dream took place?" I asked him urgently. He shook his head no, his eyes wide & frightened of whatever was attacking us. I nodded & got in front of him. Vincent was on my left, close to Sakura, but slightly behind her._

_Another kunai flew out from the forest & Kakashi disappeared into the ocean of green. Naruto followed suit, but Sakura stayed behind. Vincent looked at me, asking me if he should follow them without opening his mouth. I nodded, & his figure disappeared into the forest as well. Sakura looked at me confusedly. I didn't look back at her, & instead got in front of everyone, facing wherever the kunai came from._

_"Our attacker is probably just a random rogue ninja. I don't recognize his scent, but he's human." I said, directed toward Sakura. I sensed her nod, & move forward, toward me._

_I heard fighting in the distance, but it was too far away for anyone else to hear it._

_"Should we move on?" Sakura asked me. I guess without Kakashi, I was the next in charge. _

_I furrowed my eyebrows in frustration, not knowing whether we should keep going or not. Then my features smoothed out, & I said, "Yeah. We'll continue up to the fork in the road ahead." I turned & walked forward down the path. They followed._

_It was silent as we waited for the rest of our group members to join us or to call for help. The fork in the road neared & we were upon it quicker than anyone wanted to have been. I still heard the fight taking place, & every part of me was itching to join it. I resisted the urge, though._

_We waited for about ten minutes, & just when Sakura was going to ask to go check on them, I heard the fight end abruptly. "They're coming." I informed Sakura & the others, & sure enough, they appeared mere seconds later._

_"Chuunin. Not associated to Orochimaru." Kakashi told us, & continued down the road, taking the right path out of the two. We followed obediently. I withstood the urge to groan at the lack of leads toward Orochimaru. As if reading my mind, Vincent whispered, "They know where he is. It's not to far now. Can you sense the tension from Naruto? He can feel Orochimaru's presence. I would think you could, too..." I looked up at him, & then tried to focus on something._

_I did sense it. I could feel the dark uneasiness from the upcoming village we were heading toward. The anxiety & fear of the village's leader. But I also felt the leader's essence. It's dark aura, radiating power & evil. I shivered & clenched my fists. So close, yet so far away. Kakashi must've noticed my anticipation, because he sped up a teeny bit. Naruto & I gratefully walked faster with him._

_We slowed down when we came on to the gates of the Sound village, but I continued walking at a fast pace, walking past Kakashi & straight at the doors. Once at the doors, I just continued walking, waiting for some sort of alarms to go off. Nothing happened, so I paused & turned around, beckoning everyone to follow me. They did._

_I turned back around just in time to see a familiar face flash across my vision & stop toward my left. I stopped walking abruptly, & inhaled sharply. I stared at the man who just suddenly appeared out of nowhere, & he stared back at me._

_This wasn't exactly how I imagined I would reunite with my long-lost uncle, but, hey, what can you do?_

_I heard Jaab gasp, & then whisper, "This...is where my dream took place...exactly..."_

_Vincent let out a quiet whoosh of air behind me, though I didn't remember him being there before. My complete & undivided attention was on the man standing before me right now. He opened his mouth to speak, & everything went quiet. _

_"Hello, darling little Remi..." whispered Orochimaru, grinning._


	25. Chapter 25

_A hiss slowly escaped through my teeth & I leaned forward with my fists up. Orochimaru's grin widened, & my hiss turned into a low growl as I glared at my uncle._

_I launched myself at him, making the first move. Orochimaru easily dodged to the right, & I landed on my feet. I threw myself to the right, attacking him again. He pulled out his sword & swung it at me, & I jumped up, remembering my own ninjato. I pulled it out & swung that at him, which he blocked with his katana. I jumped back, landing stealthily next to Vincent. Naruto charged at him then, & I noticed that he was enveloped in a red chakra, most likely the Nine Tails' Cloak. I watched him fight Orochimaru intently._

_I glanced back at Kakashi, who was just as transfixed in the fight as I was. Then I looked at Vincent, who was looking at me. His eyes were questioning me. 'What are you going to do?'_

_"I'm going to fight him, of course." I answered Vincent's unasked question, then turned back to the fight & jumped in to aid Naruto._

_Orochimaru, Naruto, & I jumped amongst each other for a few minutes, until Orochimaru sent a bunch of snakes at everyone. Vincent protected Mrs. Jacobs' group & Kakashi got out of the way, but Sakura was completely unaware of the snake ready to strike behind her._

_"Sakura!" I yelled, swiftly running toward her to get her out of the way._

_I wrapped my arm around her waist & pulled her away just in time. I threw a shuriken at the snake's head as I jumped away with Sakura in my grip. The shuriken made contact & it disappeared. I let out a breath & left Sakura on the ground, running toward Orochimaru once again. _

_Throughout this fight, Naruto's Nine-Tailed fox cloak was growing. He seemed to be in control until now, where his fourth tail has appeared. I ran at Orochimaru, on Naruto's left. Naruto saw me coming, & swung his arm at me. I dodged, stunned at his reaction. Orochimaru took this opportunity of distraction to jump at me & stab at my abdomen. I knew it was going to make contact even before it did._

_The sound of the metal going completely through my stomach was unnerving. I could feel the sword rip & tear up my insides, & I choked on my own blood that was spilling out of my mouth. I didn't feel the pain immediately, but I still winced. Vincent caught my falling body from behind & whispered frantically, "Are you alright?!"_

_I choked out a 'yes' & tried to stand up straight. I knew from Jaab's dream that Orochimaru was going to run from here, so I ran forward to continue the fight. I pulled out a few shuriken & threw them at him. He blocked them & I leaped up with my ninjato raised. I brought it down hard on Orochimaru's head, making a cracking sound. To my dismay, Orochimaru melted into a pool of deadly snakes. They hissed at me & slithered away. I cursed._

_"Finish them, Sasuke..." A voice whispered evilly from the trees. I let out a low hiss & ran toward where the voice came from, but was blocked by a familiar face. _

_"Sasuke...!" I growled angrily, while Sakura stared at the teenage boy in front of me. I heard her whisper his name inaudibly._

_He stared at my distorted face emotionlessly, making me even more angry that he is so calm & untroubled while being around this evil man, Orochimaru._

_"Move, Sasuke!" I yelled at his evenly smooth face. He said nothing, but advanced toward me & raised his katana. I glared at him, & ran straight at him. He raised his katana to block, but the second before I was about to strike, I jumped in the air, over the fifteen year old boy. I landed on the ground running._

_Sasuke spun around & grabbed a fistful of the back of my shirt, pulling me backward. I cursed & sent a punch at him. We engaged in a full blown fight, with Naruto throwing chakra around at us randomly. Finally, when both Sasuke & I paused to catch our breaths, I noticed the pain in my abdomen. I cursed for the third time & collapsed on my knees. Vincent stopped shooting at Sasuke & ran over to me._

_"Remi, we should retreat." he whispered in my ear. I looked up at him incredulously. He saw my expression & raised his eyebrow, then looked up at Sasuke, & raised his gun. He shot at the speedy teen a few times, & to Sasuke's surprise, made contact with his leg. Sasuke tripped, but caught himself with his hands & did a front flip, landing in a crouched position. He cursed & inspected his leg._

_I reached into my weapons pouch & pulled out my gun. I raised it & pointed it at Sasuke's head, putting my finger on the trigger. Sasuke looked up at me then, & froze for a second. _

_"Goddammit, Sasuke, you annoying little bastard..." I muttered angrily. "You made me lose the perfect opportunity to kill my uncle, Orochimaru. You're just his little bitch & you let him use you. Now you will pay for your wrongdoings at the hands of your Master's cousin..." I narrowed my eyes as I finished my angry little speech._

_And then I pulled the trigger._


	26. Chapter 26

_The gunshot rang loudly around the village, & my ears sent painful protests along my head & neck._

_I watched the bullet fly straight at Sasuke, as if it were in slow motion. It entered through his head, but I didn't see it exit. His face fell into a blank expression, & he fell to his knees. I realized I was holding my breath, & I let it out in a huff._

_That's when things got...Confusing._

_First of all, Sasuke began melting. Like, melting into a brownish goo on the tan ground of the Sound Village. My face turned into a confused expression as I watched the goo vanish into the ground. Wha-at?_

_Then my surroundings faded to a black cloak of darkness. I looked around quickly & noticed that I was completely alone. It reminded me of my nightmare I have almost every night, with Orochimaru in it. I let out a low hiss at this reminder, & I stood from my position on the floor, scanning the darkness again. Nothing._

_"M-mom, I'm...kind of tired...Can I go to bed right now...Please?" asked a painfully familiar voice. It was a young girl, around the age of eight. I felt a pang in my chest briefly, but it stopped as soon as it appeared. I ignored it. Right now, I was much more interested in what I was viewing at the moment._

_My eight year old self was standing next to my mother, holding a piece of paper in one hand, & a pen in the other. My mother was looking down at me resentfully, deciding whether I could go to bed at that moment or not. The memory took me by surprise, & I felt all the air rush out of me, again._

_"Before you go to bed, I want you to practice your piano. Play for your father & I a Mozart piece, & then a couple of new songs that we haven't heard yet. Don't forget to do your scales a few ten or twenty times." she said to my quivering young figure. I rushed off to the small piano in our dining hall & began playing one of the many, many scales I had to play. The memory faded out._

_A new scene came to view. _

_"Remi, get your pathetic ass down here & do the dishes!" yelled my father from the kitchen, & I cringed. My fourteen year old self slowly crept off the makeshift bed & trudged herself upstairs toward the first level of our house. She winced & jumped back when she stepped on the killer nail that protruded from the fifth stair. I winced along with her, remembering this, too. _

_My younger self continued up the stairs after a minute of inspecting her foot. My body was pulled up the stairs & trailed my younger self without me doing anything. I took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to suppress my feeling of angst & fright._

_The dishes were piled up high, & my 14 year old self had to reach up on her toes to reach the highest dish. I remember this day well, because it was the first day that my father actually abused me physically._

_After a half an hour of washing dishes, my father came into the room to check if I was finished._

_"You're not done?! How slow are you, bitch? Do you need some motivation?" spat my ungrateful father, grabbing me by the back of the shirt. I let out a surprised gasp, which was cut off when he hit me in the face abruptly._

_My back hit the table with a sickening crack, & I let out a pained scream. My back wasn't broken, but it was surely hurt to some extent. My father walked up to my whimpering figure on the floor, & picked me up by the collar._

_"Is that enough motivation for you?" he whispered hatefully into my face, & then threw me at the sink. my fourteen year old self barely caught herself. My father stalked out of the room, not taking even a second glance back at my shivering, shocked body._

_The memory faded out, & was replaced by another one._

_My younger self was sitting around the dining table, next to my mother & my father. My 'uncle' was sitting in front of me, & a few of my cousins were sitting in the empty spots at the table. This was the last day that I saw my parents alive._

_"So, what college are you planning to apply to?" asked one of my cousins. My father answered for me._

_"She is not going to college. She's too smart for it, aren't you?" he replied, then looked at me with a scary nice smile. my 17 year old self nodded feebly. My mother laughed, a tinkling sound that reminded me of two pieces of glass crashing into each other forcefully._

_"Of course she isn't going to college...!" she said, giggling lightly. I shivered. The memory faded out, thankfully._

_Another memory soon replaced the last one, though. Orochimaru was talking to me in the hall, right after I got into a fight with my parents in front everyone. My father had slapped me across the face, & I stormed out._

_"Darling, I know your parents are abusive...Do you want me to do something about it?" he asked me, faking his concerned face._

_I looked at him warily. "It honestly isn't that bad...what can you do, though?" my young self asked him in a whisper._

_"I can help you."_

_"In what way?"_

_"A helpful way." he said, grinning evilly. I narrowed my eyes, along with my 17 year old self._

_Then I pulled down my protective wall & begged him selfishly. "Please. Please get me out of here." my young self pleaded in a whisper, & I winced, letting out a low whimper. I knew what the next memory was going to be about._

_Orochimaru smiled. "Of course, Darling. Of course I will help you..."_

_The memory faded out, & I hit my knees painfully. "No, no, no..." I began chanting. But of course, my pathetic protests were useless. The final memory began to fade in, & I let out a loud whimper._

_I was sitting on my too small, really crappy bed when it happened._

_I was wondering what Orochimaru was going to do to get me out of this hellhole when my mothers scream erupted from upstairs. I jumped at the abrupt noise, & I peered up the steps. I saw from under the closed door that my father had run passed my door in effort to reach my mother. I stood up cautiously, but didn't continue up the stairs._

_"J-Jason?!" I heard my father stutter out my uncle's name. My eyes widened, & I sprinted up the stairs then, ignoring the pain in my foot when I stomped on the nail. I burst through the door just as Orochimaru ran his katana straight through my father's chest. I let out a strangled choke & froze in the hallway. I watched my father fall to the floor next to my mother, & Orochimaru reach into his pocket & pull out a bloody rag to clean off his sword._

_He didn't look up as I slowly made my way into the dining room through the kitchen. I came to a stop in the doorway between the kitchen & dining room, just gazing at my parents on the floor in shock._

_My mother looked like she had been run through the stomach with Orochimaru's katana, & then stabbed again in the chest to make her stop screaming. She lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. My father was stabbed through the chest & lay next to my mother on his back with his knees bent in an awkward position. My seventeen year old self slowly slid to the floor, astonished._

_"They're...dead." she muttered simply, & I let out a strangled sob. _

_Orochimaru looked up at my younger self, & chuckled. "Of course they're dead. What did you think I was going to do; sue your parents for child abuse & put you in an orphanage?" he retorted, raising his eyebrow._

_My seventeen year old self choked again. _

_I let out a surprisingly loud, ear shattering scream._


	27. Chapter 27

_Vincent's Profile_

_Remi's scream of agony caught me by surprise. One second she was fine, preparing to shoot at Sasuke with her finger on the trigger, & then the next second, she let out a blood-curdling scream, & the pangs in my chest exploded painfully._

_She dropped the gun on the ground & buried her face in her hands. My eyebrows furrowed in complete confusion & I asked, "Remi?!" but there was no response._

_I looked up at Sasuke. Sasuke's face glowed with amusement & glee. I let out a cold growl, & leaned Remi against the nearest tree. She let out a whimper, & I ran my hand through her hair lightly. Her unconscious body relaxed slightly, but not by much. I looked up at Sakura, & motioned for her to help Remi. She obeyed._

_I looked back up at where Sasuke was, only he wasn't there anymore. Neither was Naruto or Kakashi. I sniffed the air & discovered that Naruto (in his Fox Cloak) & Sasuke were fighting, throwing deadly blows at each other. Kakashi was standing on the sidelines, probably stunned out of his mind at what Naruto was capable of. I planned on joining the fight, but I decided against it. Remi was the most important thing right now._

_I turned around to face Mrs. Jacobs & her group. "W-what happened...?" Rachel stuttered out, shocked._

_I sighed defeatedly. "I honestly don't know." I replied, & it was the truth._

_Remi's Profile_

_Even after I slipped into unconsciousness, I was still screaming._

_Not in reality, of course. But in my mind. I just kept screaming, & screaming, & screaming...it was the only way my mind knew how to deal with what I just witnessed, again._

_The first time that it happened, when it really did happen, I was grateful. I said that already. I didn't scream, or yell, or fight with Orochimaru. I thanked him, & to pay him back, I let him put the cursed mark on me. Thank god that I never put it to use._

_Anyway, my mind has never endured this kind of pain before. Or I just haven't realized it. I don't know. All I know is that right now I'm floating in this dark abyss that is reminding me of the last two 'dreams' I've had which caused me pain._

_I'm hoping this will be different._

_When my screaming finally stopped, my mind kind of shut down. I was just floating, & it was the only thing I was aware of. Just floating. I couldn't tell how long I was like this, maybe minutes, or hours. Hell, how should I know? I just had a severe mental breakdown. I didn't feel anything, I didn't see anything, or hear anything. There was nothing to smell, either. Just...Nothing._

_I guess I stayed like this for only a short time, because when I finally came to, Sakura was standing over me, her chakra healing the wound on my abdomen. Vincent was leaning over, looking at my other wounds worriedly. I didn't see Mrs. Jacobs group, so I guess they were far off to the side. My mind was still unbelievably cloudy, & I felt completely numb. I couldn't tell that I was moving until I realized that Sakura had jumped away suddenly & Vincent wasn't leaning over me anymore. His face looked surprised & confused, & another familiar emotion that I could not quite figure out. I couldn't tell what my facial expression portrayed, but according to what Vincent's showed, I don't think it was a very nice expression._

_"Sakura. I need you to move over toward Mrs. Jacobs & her group." Vincent muttered quietly, averting his gaze toward Sakura for a split second. He brought his eyes back to me almost immediately._

_That's when I finally registered what was so familiar about his mystery emotion._

_It was fear._

_He was scared of something I must be doing. Scared of something my face was showing._

_Scared of something that is probably me._

_Another thought dawned on me as I slowly began rising from the ground._

_This numb feeling wasn't unfamiliar to me, either. This has happened to me once before, when Tsukangi assigned Vincent & I to a man named Kabuto, who Tsukangi failed to mention was Orochimaru's right hand man. Anyway, when we finally found him, we fought with him for a long while until he managed to get out of our grasp & mention that he was associated to Orochimaru, or something, & I went ballistic. I mean, like Naruto-with-four-tails ballistic, only I'm conscious of what I'm doing, & without the demon._

_By the time I figured this all out, I was already standing & growling angrily. I started to get feeling restored throughout my body, & I felt my back arch, preparing for my wings to form. I shivered, & Vincent whispered, "Remi..."_

_I felt the wings sprout from my shoulder blades, causing me a brief but excruciating shot of pain down my spine. My scream was loud, but it didn't sound like mine at all. I winced as the yell of pain subsided, & I knew I only had another few seconds to tell someone that I was losing control before I did lose control. I managed out only three words before my mind switched to instinct & I let out an inhuman scream that, too, was not one of mine._

"Vincent...please...GO...!" I choked, & then gave up on saving what little of my sanity was left.


	28. Chapter 28

_Vincent's Profile_

_Remi's eyes flooded into a brilliant crimson the second after she forced those three final words out to me before she lost control. I quickly ran over to Mrs. Jacobs' group & Sakura & whispered a quick set of instructions that they speedily obeyed. They were gone a few seconds later, & Remi seemed to still be struggling for power by the time I returned to the middle of the clearing, cautiously inching forward to her. I knew that this had happened once before, but I wasn't there for her when it happened. I didn't know how to handle this. One wrong move could get me killed._

_Just when I thought this, Remi seemed to have lost the battle with her powerful fallen angel side. She was watching me intently, waiting for me to make a favorable move. I stopped moving altogether, in fear of making a wrong move._

_"Remi...?" I whispered quietly. She winced, but other than that, she was unresponsive. It was slightly disturbing._

_'Oh, what the hell...' I jumped at Remi, trying to grab her around her arms, constricting her movement until she settled down. She dodged & I barely got out of the way of the tree that was hidden behind her. I used the tree as a push off & launched myself again at her, & missed again. I guess that's when she caught the sent of Sasuke, which made her stop in her tracks, then spin around & swiftly disappear in his general direction. I ran after her silently._

_We soon reached the area where Sasuke was fighting the Cloaked Naruto. When Remi joined the fight, I was surprised to see that Naruto didn't attack her. I guess that he understood that they were both after similar things._

_I stopped next to Kakashi, who was watching the battle incredulously._

_"Jiraiya wasn't kidding..." he mumbled quietly, referring to Naruto in his Fox Cloak. I glanced at him, but looked back at the fight again almost immediately. I decided to wait until the fight was over to attempt to capture the crazed Remi._

_That was easier said than done._

_Sasuke retreated a few minutes after seeing Remi join the battle, which caused Naruto & Remi to begin fighting amongst themselves. Kakashi stepped in then & began the long, difficult task of getting Naruto back to normal, which clued me in to try & get Remi back to normal before she killed all of us._

_Right now, Remi & I were jumping around, avoiding each other. I used mostly speedy skills to avoid & try to capture Remi, but it wasn't enough. Remi had her weapons, her speedy skills, & her wings to avoid & attack me. She nailed me four or so times in the arm with her gun, & managed to slash at me a couple times, & make a few deep cuts to my chest, which were slowly healing. I was running out of blood pretty fast, though._

_Finally, after almost a half an hour of this nonsense, I caught one of her majorly oversized wings, & pulled her to my chest while wrapping my arms around hers. She hissed in anger, & I collapsed to my knees. Kakashi looked over at me with questioning eyes. I didn't answer._

_After another fifteen minutes or so, she still hadn't passed out or anything, & I was slowly, but unknowingly, slacking my arms that were currently around her. She had settled down a bit, but still hissing in anger, when she burst out of my arms & backhandedly slashed my chest & abdomen._

_I let out a startled gasp & fell forward. I saw all the blood spilling from my previously opened wounds, & I knew I wouldn't have enough blood to heal this. I looked up at Remi, who was now lounging in the air, watching me. I let out another painful gasp, & I heard Kakashi say something in the background, but I didn't comprehend it. Everything was dimming so fast._

_'I can't...Not now...not...yet...'_

_The last thing I saw before everything went black was Remi's eyes, which were switching between colors rapidly. The most dominant color that showed up the most was a deep bluish green with a purple tint. I heard her emit a small whimper, & just when I thought I had blacked out, I heard her whisper something that made me want to get up right now & be much more than okay._

_"Vincent...please...I am so sorry..."_


	29. Chapter 29

_Remi's Profile_

_Throughout everything that I did while I was not in control, the part that I regret the most is the moment I killed Vincent._

_It's the moment that I, to this day, cannot stop thinking about. The moment that whenever I really think about, makes me want to just run away. _

_Run away from what? Well, I guess humanity. I want to get away from everyone so that I don't have to regret another innocent person's death. Another fatality by my sinful hands. Even though I haven't killed anyone innocent since that day, I still don't trust myself. I cannot forgive myself for that, no matter what._

_It was also the moment that I finally realized something. Something very important. Something that I should have known for awhile now._

_Vincent had never been just a Protector to me. I held him closer than anyone I have known._

_&, yeah, technically have known that, but I never knew how close I held him. How tightly I held on to him. How desperately._

_The first thing I really remember from that day was Vincent. I don't remember anything else prior to his death that day. I recall that I was in the air, looking down at him, & he was looking up, with all his blood surrounding him. It looked like an ocean, there was so much._

_I don't remember anything that was said, or anything that I heard. All I remember is him looking me straight in the eye, with that painful, broken look on his face. It absolutely broke my heart, though I would never admit that to him._

_I remember sinking slowly to the ground, but from what Kakashi told me was that I kind of fell straight down, hitting my knees hard. He said that I didn't even acknowledge the pain. I was looking straight at Vincent, who, by this time was out cold._

_Also, what Kakashi told me was that I yelled out, "Ice!" a couple times & something about bandages. I don't remember that._

_What I do remember of that moment was that I rushed to his side & that I rolled my sleeve up & bit my wrist, holding it up to his mouth after I put him on his back. I remembered that the fear I felt was so overpowering that I could barely think straight. Maybe it was just the thought of me killing my own Protector was so traumatic that I couldn't think properly._

_Anyway, sometime between that small time period, Kakashi had gotten me bandages, but no ice. He said that they didn't carry ice with them. He later told me that I cursed pretty loudly at that piece of information. I can't remember that either._

_I wrapped the bandages around Vincent's abdomen quickly after that, while still feeding Vincent as much blood as I could. I didn't know if it was helping or not, but I also had my healing powers working on him, too._

_Time went by pretty fast, apparently. What I thought had only been two minutes had actually been about thirty. That was the first thing that I could comprehend that Kakashi was saying. I remember shaking my head & saying, "No. You're lying. It's only been three." I remember that I wouldn't stop shaking my head. Denial._

_After another four minutes or so, a miracle happened. Vincent's eye's fluttered open, & everything seemed to unfreeze. I let out a surprised choke, & my healing powers stuttered slightly. I took my wrist away from Vincent's mouth._

_"Vincent...?" I remember whispering quietly, & for the first time ever, I nearly started crying at his name._

_Vincent's Profile_

_"Vincent...?"_

_Her voice was the sweetest thing I had ever heard. It felt like I hadn't heard it in so long, & I remember that I almost laughed at her voice, but I didn't. I couldn't, rather. All I could really do was turn my head & whisper a few words._

_Now, I had a variety of things I could say to her. Virtually anything. I could say, 'Wasup?' for example. But that wouldn't really be appropriate for this kind of situation. So I decided to say one of the easiest, but most meaningful words I could probably ever say._

_"Remi...?" I remember whispering quietly, & for the first time ever, I nearly started crying at her name._


	30. Chapter 30

_Remi's Profile_

_For the next few hours that we traveled back to our first camping place, Vincent slipped in & out of consciousness for the whole trip. I was still healing him & giving him as much blood as I could muster up, but it was taking a big toll on my body now. I was probably slowing everybody down by the time we were half way there._

_When we finally did reach the campsite, I nearly collapsed with exhaustion, but, thank god, I didn't. Instead, I asked Sakura to look after him for about twenty minutes, & I ran into the forest, in search of an animal that could feed my hunger. It didn't take long until I was completely full again._

_When I returned to the campsite, Vincent was still out, but he was looking much better. Sakura told me that she healed him a bit more while I was gone. I thanked her about five times while I walked back over to Vincent & sat down next to him, reopening the healed wound on my wrist. Now that I was filled again, his healing should only take a few more hours. The thought that he would be fine by dinnertime made me so relieved that I almost giggled with giddiness. I sighed in content, instead._

_It took me awhile to realize that it was silent. I mean, completely silent. When I looked around, I noticed that everyone was avoiding my gaze except for Kakashi, who, whenever he caught my eye, would look at me with such seriousness that it made me kind of annoyed. 'What did I do?'_

_I thought back to the incident this afternoon, & I finally came to a startling conclusion; Everyone saw me in my full fallen angel form. It must have scared them to death..._

_I closed my eyes in complete annoyance. 'What set me off anyway? What Sasuke made me relive was not very unnerving, now that I think about it. I've relived it so many times that if I saw it right now, I probably wouldn't even flinch. Yeah, it'll make me pretty angry at Orochimaru, but that's really it.' I shook my head._

_"R-remi...?" I heard someone say._

_"Yeah?" I whispered, not looking up._

_"Are you okay...?" asked Rachel. That girl may be kind of spoiled, but she did have some courage. Atleast she said something._

_"Yeah. I'm fine." I mumbled, looking up to see everyone looking back at me. I sighed again, & added, "Sorry."_

_Everyone seemed to understand what I meant by my 'Sorry'. They smiled lightly, but they looked kind of strained. I dismissed the feeling of sadness in the pit of my stomach. Rachel looked like she wanted to say something else, so I looked at her questioningly._

_"Er..." she began, then said, "Your eyes are...Blue, by the way. I was wondering why you were...Sad." she ended simply, & I immediately tried to hide my emotions. I didn't know if it worked._

_"I'm fine, really. Worried about Vincent, that's all." I replied, looking back down at him. He was still unconscious. I was starting to get worried, because it was getting close to dinner, & he still wasn't awake. I sighed for the hundredth time & decided that he had enough blood to function properly. I pulled my wrist away, but didn't move much after that. It was silent again._

_Dinner came around way too fast. Sakura made ramen, Naruto's favorite. Even Naruto was conscious by this time, & he had much worse injuries than Vincent did. I guess Sakura is really an exceptional healer._

_I refused to move from Vincent's side, & I didn't even eat. I wasn't hungry, really. Sakura saved me some food, still. "You might get hungry later." was her excuse. I probably won't be hungry for another few days, was my reasoning._

_By the time everyone was asleep & Vincent wasn't awake, I really was disturbed. The only indication that Vincent was alright was that he was breathing, which wasn't needed when you're a vampire, but because it's so important when you're human, you kind of just continue doing it. There isn't really an explanation for it. You just do._

_Around 11:00pm, I was slipping into a half sleep/half awake state, & Vincent still wasn't up. I was trying to pull an all-nighter, but I was so used to sleeping around this time & waking up every few hours that I was tired by this time. I banged my head against the tree trunk I was laying on for the billionth time that night, but it didn't really help._

_Just when I was about to fall off the tree trunk & onto my side because I was so tired, I heard a faint groan from my left. Actually, it sounded more like a 'Uurrgh...Mmph.' I would've giggled at this if this was under different circumstances. _

_I hastily caught my slouching body & turned my head in Vincent's direction. He was struggling to sit up with his eyes shut in tiredness. I let out a very small, but very high squeal (it was more like a squee, actually), & Vincent's eyes shot open to focus on my nearly smiling face. His hands were planted on the ground behind his back. His legs were straight out, just like I laid them so many hours ago. He looked slightly alarmed at my surprised expression. Without much warning, I leaned over, grabbed him around the neck, & gave him a tight hug. I buried my face into his neck & held on tightly. I expected him to cough, or give out a little choke, or something to show that he was surprised & wierded out, but instead, he actually wrapped his arms around my back & waist, & held on just as tightly as I held onto him. I felt the static between us explode into a mass of fireworks. I let out a small huff of air that I didn't realize I was holding._

_We stayed like that for...Oh, I don't know. We stayed like that for a really long time. We both probably didn't really care if we stayed like that forever. It felt good just to be like that. It felt really good._

_"I am so, so sorry." I rushed out a few minutes later, still in the tight embrace._

_"It's okay. It wasn't your fault." was his reply._

_"Yes, it was. I've never learned how to contain it."_

_"But you never had the opportunity to learn."_

_"Still."_

_"It wasn't your fault."_

_I felt my eyes begin to sting, & I hugged him tighter. He did the same._

_"I'm sorry. So sorry."_


	31. Chapter 31

_"Remi-chan, I think we should start moving back to Konoha." Kakashi proposed to me the next morning. "This mission obviously wasn't accomplished, plus Orochimaru is much too powerful for just us."_

_I looked up at him strictly, glaring slightly. "If we do not complete this mission, we will have much more of a fatality risk than just us. The death risk extends to every world there is to get at, because he has some way to skip through worlds, which is very rare, & very expensive, if you use someone else's transporter."_

_Kakashi sighed, & looked over everyone's sleeping bodies. I had been awake the whole night, even after Vincent passed out again. The night passed by relatively quickly, & now the sun was just beginning its journey into the sky. I winced & shielded my eyes from a stream of light that made its way through the trees._

_"So, what you want to do is to continue pursuing Orochimaru & risk changing back into your...Fallen Angel form again, & put Vincent's life at risk again, let alone everyone else?" Kakashi said, eyeing me critically._

_His comment stung, but I showed no reaction to his words. "Hai (Yes)."_

_He looked at me for a long moment, & then shook his head. "Well, if that's the case, I do not wish to bring my team into this. You can continue your pursuit if you want, but my team is out."_

_"So, you're declaring this as a failure for your team?" I asked._

_"Hai." he replied, standing up._

_"But, if you do decide to continue, I suggest you avoid Sasuke. He is the real reason why you changed forms, not Orochimaru." he advised, then walked toward the lake, disappearing into a sea of green. I sighed & rolled my head back, hitting it on the tree behind me. I ignored the sharp pain that shot down my spine like a lightning bolt. "Ugh..." I mumbled._

_About ten minutes later, everyone seemed to be waking up. Jaab was up first, as always. _

_"Uh...We were walking back to the Konoha Village...But we were intercepted by this totally new guy...I never saw him before...& you guys started to fight. Vincent seemed to be in good enough shape to fight too." Jaab said to me, then collapsing onto his sleeping bag again. I let out a sigh._

_"Can you describe him?" I asked, & Jaab groaned._

_"Dark hair...Brownish eyes...Wore black gloves, but on one hand he had a bandage on his arm over the glove...I think he was wearing a pair of jeans & a black shirt that fully showed his arms...He also wore two necklaces with black crosses on them..." he trailed off, falling back into sleep. My eyes widened at this new information, recognizing who he was describing. _

_I sighed, closing my eyes. I don't really want to fight him, but Orochimaru is so close...& he isn't that hard to beat..._

_"Orochimaru isn't our main priority, Remi..." I heard Vincent mutter quietly, & I looked over at him. I didn't realize that he was awake. I sighed again._

_"But he's so close..." I mumbled. I realized that my determination to demolish Orochimaru's existence seemed to have lowered quite a bit, & I tried to think of a good enough reason to explain this. Surely not because of Vincent..._

_"He may be close, but Tsukangi is our most important issue right now, you agree?" Vincent asked me, & I nodded doubtfully._

_"So should we retreat?" Vincent asked._

_"Yes. But we'll come back."_

_"Of course."_

_When Kakashi emerged from the forest again, I informed him that I would be bringing my group back to Konoha with his. He showed no emotion to this, but when he walked away, I saw him nodding minutely to himself. I cracked my neck & sat down in the previous spot I was in. 'Well, shit...I guess it's not that bad.' _

_I sniffed the air, searching for any foreign scents. There was a strong leafy smell, of course, & everyone else's scents were there, but I overlooked one scent that was actually quite important to know was there._

_I yawned & leaned my head against the tree behind me, closing my eyes. I knew I was going to slip into a light sleep even before I did, & I knew what dream I was going to have even before I did. I always knew, & I always will._

_"Darling, you wanted to be freed, yes?" I heard Jason's sugary sweet voice reach my ears. I took a deep breath & got ready for what was going to occur next. I used to try to wake up from this in my earlier years, but I gave up after about three or four years of uselessly moving my arms, pinching myself, the like. I've never managed to get myself to wake up, so I've lived through this more than two-hundred times. It never gets boring._

_But this time, I was interrupted. The dream stuttered & slowly disappeared from my mind, in place of a voice that I've heard & treasured for many, many years of my life._

_"Remi. Wake up. Breakfasts' ready." Vincent informed me. I opened my eyes, & Vincent's face showed so much concern that you could see it from a mile away. It disappeared nearly at the same time my eyes opened._

_I coughed & looked away from his face, sitting up. "Thanks." I mumbled quietly, & slowly made my way over to the fast-dying fire. Vincent stood up & sat on the opposite side of the fire, wincing as he gingerly settled himself down. I guess he was still sore._

_Breakfast went by fast, & so did the fifteen-twenty minutes that was spent packing & preparing for departure. We set off for Konoha around seven-thirty, while it was still dark. I used my fallen angel's power over light to bring the sun up prematurely. I brought it up to the horizon, where I left it half hidden by this world, & half showing. It was enough to help us see the way. I was still trying to catch my breath when our first battle of the day stepped out of the shadows & attacked._

_A dark aura flooded around us, & Kakashi stopped immediately, pulling out a kunai. I ran up to him, summoning more of my light powers, & told him to throw the kunai toward our attacker. He eyed me curiously, but threw it anyway._

_I brought my arms up, my right palm open, facing the kunai, & my left hand on the back of my right, holding it in place. I took a deep breath & let out a stream of light from my palm, enveloping the kunai like fluid. I forced the kunai to move quicker, & I heard a satisfied metal-on-flesh sound & a grunt from the attacker. The darkness dispersed to reveal-_

_"Edmund...?" I whispered quietly._


	32. Chapter 32

_Edmund grinned wryly, holding his bleeding arm. "It's nice to see you too, Rem." he said sarcastically. I resisted rolling my eyes, & just looked at him._

_"Who else did Tsukangi send, other than you?" I asked unemotionally. Edmund sighed as Adam stepped out of the brush behind him. I stiffened, along with Vincent. Ed looked at me, his eyes full of regret. I avoided his gaze, averting my eyes instead to Adam._

_"Good morning, Remi! What a lovely day this will be, yes?" Adam said sweetly, & I glared. He sighed._

_"I'm guessing that you want to get right down to business then, correct? Well, I see no reason why not to..." he muttered, rushing straight at me. I jumped back, landing next to Vincent. I leaned up & whispered hastily into his ear, "Earth." He nodded in understanding, & I pulled out my ninjato just as he started up the portal. I glanced over at Edmund, who seemed to notice the portal before Adam. He looked up at me & smiled lightly. I could tell, from the way he looked at me, that he wouldn't say anything about the portal to Adam. All I had to do was keep it hidden from Adam until the portal was ready. _

_I noticed that Ed's right wing had specks of white feathers appearing on it. That would be a problem if anyone from Ashi noticed, too. It means that Ed was becoming one of the good guys. I shook my head slightly. 'That isn't my problem right now...'_

_Adam was running at me again, & I raised my ninjato to defend myself. I locked it in place just as Adam struck, & the force of it pushed my feet back a few inches in the dirt. I pressed back just as hard, but Adam didn't budge. I grit my teeth & pressed back harder. I could not move, or I would reveal the portal to Adam, who would kill Vincent in a heartbeat. I shut my eyes, waiting for Adam to strike with his other arm, killing me, or at least knocking me out & destroying all hope of freedom._

_Instead of my death, suddenly all the pressure Adam was putting on my ninjato just disappeared, nearly sending me face-first into the dirt. I opened my eyes & looked around in bewilderment. I saw Adam soaring backwards into a tree, & Ken stepping forward, concentrating hard on Adam's slumped body. I gasped quietly, realizing what Ken did. Ken had just saved my life._

_Adam stood up angrily, glaring daggers at Ken. I took a few steps forward, but paused, looking back at Vincent. He was too busy concentrating on the portal to notice my torn face. I shook my head, looking back at Ken & Adam. I watched as Ken staggered backwards a few steps, frightened of Adam, who was advancing on him quickly. I had a sudden, painful two-second flashback._

_My seventeen year old self was backing away from Orochimaru, who was walking toward me evilly. All I could hear in this flashback was, "Darling...Darling...DARLING...!" getting louder & louder & louder..._

_I growled, trying not to scream. I charged at Adam, pulling out my .48 & aiming it at his head. I shot three times, one right after another. He blocked them all with his sword & swung it at my head, which, once I landed on the ground, I blocked with my ninjato. He jumped back, but I followed, pulling my arm back & striking at Adam again with my katana. He blocked, but lost his footing & crashed into a tree behind him. I pushed off the tree Adam landed hard on, & flipped back, landing on the ground lightly, waiting for him to get back up._

_"Remi." I heard Vincent say from behind me, & I turned toward Mrs. Jacobs' group on my left. I motioned to the group, who quickly walked over to Vincent, retreating into the portal, one by one. _

_"Edmund! Attack her, damnit!" Adam yelled, struggling to get up from the blow to his back. Ed looked at me, sorrow in his eyes. Then he rushed at me, his darkness powers rising up his arms. I summoned some of my light powers & let it's aura envelop my ninjato. I let Ed strike first._

_"I'm sorry, Rem, but I have to in order to not get myself killed. You understand, right...?" Ed mumbled nearly inaudibly to me. I stifled a sigh._

_"Ed." I said emotionlessly. "Ed, if I can do this, you can, too." I looked at him seriously, & he stared at me helplessly. Then I glanced up at his wing, causing him to look up & notice the white flecks scattered on his right wing. He hastily shifted back to his human form, & I shook my head & jumped back, surprising Ed to the point were he just stood, watching me. I stepped over to Vincent quickly, getting ready to enter the portal. I nodded at Ed as a goodbye, & I disappeared into the portal. Vincent followed after quickly, leaving Adam & Edmund staring at where we had previously been._

_Adam stood & stomped angrily over to Edmund. _

_"What the __**hell**__ do you thing you're doing?!" yelled Adam, grabbing Ed by the collar. Ed let out a small grunt, stuttering on his words. Adam shook him, then let go. "Did you hear what she said to her Protector?" Adam asked heatedly. Ed shook his head._

_"God__damn__ it." Adam cursed, punching toward the ground & spinning on his heel. Ed hid a grin, risking one more glance toward the area where I had been just minutes before. He let out a small sigh & then turned around, following Adam back to camp._

_I landed hard on my hands & knees, rolling over onto my side as quickly as I could to get out of the way for Vincent. Just in time, too, because Vincent came down right after I did. He landed on his feet in a crouching position, which made me wonder how many times he had ever shifted worlds. I looked around, realizing that everyone was on their feet by now. I hastily got to my feet, brushing myself off._

_Everyone was looking around curiously, while Calvin was straining to see down the street toward a white building at the end. Then he looked back at me & said, "We're home...?" he questioned. I looked blankly at him, not remembering for a moment where we were. I looked around, seeing that we were on a quiet street in front of a brown condo building that was once one of my temporary shelters on earth. I also happened to live just down the street from Calvin's house, which he was straining to see a few seconds ago._

_I looked back at Calvin & nodded. He grinned, & I heard a few sighs of contentment._

_But, of course, we won't be here for long._


	33. Chapter 33

_"We're HOME?!" gasped Rachel, spinning around in a full 360 degrees, stopping again to face me. "EARTH?! This is EARTH?! It looks like some...Some place that's...Poor and...My GOD! It's so...Ew! Is that dog crap?!" Rachel exclaimed, pointing a finger at a pile of dog excrement on the front lawn, next to a tree._

_"Yep, we must be back on Earth." muttered Ken, getting a few snickers from the group. Rachel glared. I shook my head._

_"Remi. Should we get in contact with Saya & Hagi...? This would be a good time to, also. The more people we can get in contact with, the better. If we have the final fight here, then we would have backup, if we needed it." Vincent suggested, & I agreed. If we fought Adam, Tsukangi, & whoever else Tsukangi sends on Earth, then we might have their help._

_I sighed. "Then we need eight plane tickets to Japan." I informed them, & I heard a few gasps. I saw Ken smile, along with Alex._

_"Japanese chicks! Sweet!" they exclaimed in unison. _

_I swear, if they are ever reincarnated, they'll be reincarnated as brothers. Maybe even twins._

_We entered the fast-paced airport, walking quickly toward the reservation desk. Vincent had gone ahead of us about two hours ago to reserve seven tickets while we packed & got ready. I would be staying behind to transport the weaponry across the country, since once we would get to Japan, we wouldn't really have much money to buy new weapons. The reason why I was staying behind was because my speed can top most vampires, & I have wings to fly over the oceans. Sure, I could swim, but flying is easier. The plan was that I would fly over the plane, hidden by the clouds. If for some reason someone tried to attack the plane from the outside, I would be there to protect it, too._

_"Excuse me, but these six-" I gestured to the group. "- apparently have a reservation for the flight to Japan in a half hour, correct?" I asked the woman after I shifted quickly into an average thirty year old woman with brown hair, dark green eyes, & average height, about five-eight, weight about 130-135._

_The woman typed in all of their names, & confirmed their reservations. Then she handed them their tickets & pointed them in the direction they would go. They already knew, though, because Vincent was standing by the gates, a few yards away from the desk. I nodded to the children & teacher, & said quietly, "I'll see you in about twelve-fourteen hours. If you see something weird, anything, make sure Vincent knows about it. He'll keep you all safe on the inside of the plane if something happens, & I'll keep you safe from any outside dangers. If you guys go to the bathroom & take over eight minutes in there, Vincent's going to come check on you, okay? Trust him enough to tell him that, even if you have a gun to your head & the shooter says to tell him something like you're 'fine', tell Vincent that you are not. He'll be in there before the shooter can even think of shooting you. Promise?" I lectured them, & they all nodded, slightly stunned. I guess it still hadn't sunk in that their lives were in danger everywhere they went. I hope that it would sink in soon, or their lives would be over sooner than they wanted them to be._

_I sighed, standing up straight. "See you soon." I said, then turned on my heel, leaving them all staring confusedly after me._

_Third Person_

_(With Mrs. Jacobs' group & Vincent)_

_As everyone boarded the plane, with the exception of Remi, many of them felt oddly anxious. They really had no reason to be so scared, especially with the two immortals that were protecting them against a gigantic organization with over two-hundred immortals after them, & possibly a few Orochimaru-followers instructed to beat them to a bloody pulp, then decapitate & probably completely mutilate them & present their heads to their leaders. _

_Honestly, there was nothing to worry about._

_But, even with that, they were still a little edgy as they took their seats near the front of the airplane, taking up two middle rows, & one window seat for Vincent. Mrs. Jacobs sat in the first of the two rows, closest to Vincent on the left side. Next to her was Rachel, squished in the middle. On the right of Rachel, & the end of the row, was Jaab. _

_Behind Jaab, in the second row on the right, was Calvin. Squished in the middle was Ken, behind Rachel. Then finally, behind Mrs. Jacobs in the second row on the left, was Alex, who was already drifting off into a light sleep. He was the only one besides Vincent who couldn't feel the tension between the six. Mrs. Jacobs was fidgeting in her chair, Rachel was biting her lip & looking around anxiously, Jaab had his head in his hands, sighing every few minutes. Calvin had a worried kind of thinking expression on his face, & Ken ran his hand through his hair about five times a minute, looking just as exasperated as Jaab. The group as a whole looked exhausted & uncomfortable. Even the passengers around them seemed to feel the tension traveling thickly through the air._

_Vincent felt it, too, but he ignored it as much as he could. With his 20/20 eyesight, he could see Remi in the distance. A slowly moving black speck, hidden from any human by the clouds. She was circling in the sky like a bird moving in on its prey. Vincent wondered if she could feel the anxiety, even from all the way up there._

_The pilot of the plane came on the speakers just then, informing everyone in a crackly, rasping voice that the airplane would begin its journey to Japan in just a few moments, & that they should all fasten their seatbelts securely._

_Vincent sighed tiredly & leaned back in his chair. He was terribly exhausted, too. The man hadn't slept in over half a century! He had a right to be more than tired!_

_As promised, the plane inched forward, then began gaining speed after another few seconds. Vincent glanced over at Mrs. Jacobs' group, & noticed that they all seemed to be slightly calmer now, regardless of the plane preparing to lift off the ground. It was surprising._

_Vincent went back to looking out the window, searching for Remi. He caught a glimpse of her flying quickly above the clouds over to the plane, & he couldn't help but sigh in relief. Vincent wondered, for a brief moment, what he would do if she never existed. He dismissed the thought just as quick as it came, though, because he already knew the answer._

_If she didn't exist, then he probably would have given up on his life completely already. He would just be among the lonely grey gravestones that line along the Midgar city limits, alone & forgotten._


	34. Chapter 34

_Still 3rd Person_

_To everyone's great relief, the plane ride went by uneventful. No one in the group slept a wink, though._

_Remi met the group at the entrance of the airport, where from there they walked over to a neighboring hotel that, naturally, was nearly booked up to the teeth with tourists. Though, the most expensive room, suite 213, was left untouched, until now._

_Remi sat down tiredly on one of the many queen-sized beds in the suite, barely keeping her eyes open. Mrs. Jacobs' group closely resembled Remi's exhausted state. Vincent, of course, was completely fine. He walked over to Remi as everyone else was slowly unpacking their few belongings._

_"Do you need...?" he trailed off, looking at Remi seriously._

_Remi shook her head. "No, I'm fine, just tired." she lied. She didn't like taking Vincent's blood, let alone anyone else's._

_Vincent sat on the corner of the bed as Remi laid down, closing her eyes. She could tell that Vincent was looking at her, but she didn't say anything._

_Twenty minutes later, everyone was in a deep, not-very-sound sleep except for Remi, who, along with Vincent, were in the exact same spot as they were twenty minutes ago._

_Vincent stood up slowly, & Remi immediately asked, "Where are you going?"_

_He paused, looking back at her. Her eyes weren't open, but he could tell that she was concerned, even though she was trying to hide it. He sighed internally._

_"I don't know. Just...around." he replied, turning toward the door._

_"Remember to-" Remi was cut off._

_"Right." Vincent said, failing to hide the bitter tone, then walking out the door. Remi opened her eyes then, staring confusedly at the closed door. She shook her head, standing up swiftly & following Vincent out the door. He was already on the elevator, pressing the lobby button. Remi sped up her walk, reaching the elevator easily before the doors shut._

_Remi came to stand beside Vincent silently, not even glancing his way. They rode the elevator down in silence, too. Vincent knew she was waiting for him to say something, but he refused to utter a single syllable. They continued this for about ten minutes, when they were walking slowly but meaningfully through one of Japan's many city parks. Vincent stopped walking & looked at Remi. Remi did the same, looking at Vincent._

_"What are you waiting for?" asked Vincent quietly._

_She was silent for a moment, thinking. She really had no reason for all this. She considered just walking away, back to the hotel, but she decided against it._

_"I don't know." she admitted to him, still looking him solidly in the eye. "Why don't you tell me?"_

_"Go back to the hotel, Remi." Vincent muttered, turning again toward the winding path of the park. Remi, against Vincent's wishes, followed him._

_It was silent for another twenty or so minutes as they continued through the park. The only noises that were heard by the two were their feet crunching as they stepped on the loose gravel & the sounds of nocturnal animals dancing around the nearly empty park. It would have been relaxing if this were under different circumstances._

_When the came to the end of the path, Vincent stopped again, but didn't turn to Remi. He stared straight ahead, as if he saw something of interest in the distance._

_"There are some days...when I have to wonder if any of this would have happened if I hadn't discovered how to change worlds. If I had stayed in Midgar for the rest of my miserable, pathetic existence, never to have met you, or Mrs. Jacobs, or any of them._

_"When I think about these things, of course, I know that I probably would have died in some sort of battle already, or, if I was severely...depressed, I probably would have killed myself...years ago. Years, Remi. Years._

_"But then, after I realize that, I think about why being with you is so...great. Yes, it gives me something...someone to live for, but it also gives me yet another burden. Believe me, Remi, many of my burdens are terribly hefty, but yours...the one that is dedicated to you is heavier than any I have ever had! It drags me down even lower than the gravel under my feet. It's...not painful...most of the time. Most of the time, it is easy to protect you, easy to fulfill my Protector duties. Easy to be...to be alive again._

_"But then there are those days...Those rare, yet terribly painful days, when...protecting you gets difficult. The day when you submitted to your fallen angel side, for example. That was extremely difficult. Not because you almost killed me,-" Remi flinched at his wording, but his back was to her, & didn't see her movement. Vincent continued without hesitation. "-but because you changed into an entirely different person, & even if I tried to protect you from, say, Sasuke, if he had tried to attack you, you would still have injured me, just for being...there."_

_Vincent turned around to face Remi, talking a swift stride toward her & taking her face in his bare hand._

_"You make it so hard to help you, Remi. When I asked you if you needed blood back in the hotel, you told me no. You told me no, for what reason? So you wouldn't hurt me? Because you feel guilty for all the other times you've ever taken my blood? Because you feel selfish for taking my blood to save yourself? Remi, when I ask if you ever need anything from me, I'm telling you that I want you to have it. It doesn't matter if it's a useless pile of junk or the most valuable item on the market. I want you to have it, & no one else. Do you understand that?" Vincent looked deep into Remi's eyes, waiting for an answer. She realized that her breathing had stopped, & took a deep breath._

_Then she nodded. "Yes, Vincent. Of course." she mumbled quietly, not taking her eyes off him. He sighed, releasing her face._

_"Good. Now, do you need blood?" he asked, holing out his arm. Remi took a step forward, gripping his arm. She brought it up to her lips, but paused. Then she took another breath in, & bit down as lightly as she could, breaking skin but trying not to break too much else._

_She made it quick, ending it as soon as she could. She didn't understand why, before all of this drama happened, she had drank his blood without a seconds' hesitation. But now...now, she tried her best to avoid hurting him as much as possible._

_She thought back at what Vincent's theories were, & realized that all of them were true. Did she want to hurt him? Of course not. Did she feel guilty for all the other times? Yes. She did. Did she feel selfish for taking his blood, which, if she took to much, would obviously kill him, but she takes it anyway to save her own life? Yes. Who wouldn't? He was painfully accurate with everything, & he had to tell her straight out for her to realize it._

_She pulled away quickly, wiping her mouth & turning away from Vincent. He noticed this._

_"Remi...?" he asked, surprised._

_She turned to him, eyes watering slightly._

_"I'm sorry, Vincent. For being such a burden. For being so difficult. For almost killing you so many times. For being so terrible, horrible to you. I'm sorry that I made such a...mess of your life. You should have just left me to Tsukangi. Left me to be exterminated by them, so I wouldn't mess up anyone else's life, either. I am so sorry." She looked deeply into his eyes, then turned & disappeared into the dark of the night, Vincent losing sight of her in mere seconds._

_That night, neither of them returned to the hotel._


	35. Chapter 35

_Remi's Profile_

_I slowly walked into the hotel room, searching for Vincent. It was about five o'clock Japan time, but everyone from America was awake already. In America, it was already morning, or afternoon. The group looked up at me as I trudged into the room & collapsing on the bed. I brought my hand up to my face, then ran it through my hair._

_"What happened to you?" Jaab asked incredulously, & I bit back a groan._

_"I walked around the area to get more familiar with it." Even though I've been here more times than any of your family has been put together plus two Japanese uncles. _

_"Right." muttered Jaab, & I was in front of his face in a second, squatting on his bed, one hand balancing me & the other gripping him tightly by the collar._

_"Listen, kid. I had a rough freakin' night, okay? I have no idea if Vincent will be coming back for a long time, & even I had no idea if I was going to come back for awhile last night. I walked around this area about a hundred times more than your little legs could take you around a kiddie park. So give me a flippin' break, would you?" I sneered, then let go of his collar, getting off the bed._

_I took two strides & reached the door, pulling it open. But instead of me walking dramatically out the door, though, I came face-to-face with Vincent's chest. I paused, sensing his presence the second before I would have collided into him. I looked up at him, raising my head slowly. He was already looking down at me, & I could see the relief in his eyes._

_I stepped back, letting him in. "Good to see you back, Vincent." I whispered nearly inaudibly. "But I'm going to go take a walk for a bit. I'll be back." Then I disappeared out the door, leaving everyone yet again, staring confusedly after me._

_Vincent's Profile_

_The door shut, & I considered going after her. I decided against it when I felt the dark aura slowly begin seeping away, now that Remi had gone. She was pretty pissed, apparently. _

_I looked back at the group, who, now that Remi had left, were looking questioningly back at me. I knew what they wanted to ask, but I chose not to answer that question. Instead, I chose to tell them what would be going on for the rest of the week, or so._

_I turned around, sitting on the bed with my back to them. "When Remi comes back, we will start searching for Saya & Hagi. They are...old friends of Remi's...& we're hoping that they're somewhere in this area. The last time we checked, they were in Okinawa, so we're going to check there first."_

_"Where's Okinawa?" asked Mrs. Jacobs._

_"About an hour or two from here. We'll call a limo." I replied._

_It was silent. No one really had anything to say. I stifled a sigh. It was weird being here, with the group, but missing Remi. It was Remi's job to babysit, not mine._

_I stood up & walked to the window, looking out of it & trying to see if she was around anywhere. I couldn't see her, nor could I sense her anywhere near. This was going to be a long few hours._

_Remi's Profile_

_I walked back in the door about two hours later to find Vincent standing by the window, his metal hand propping him up against the wall & his eyes gazing lazily out the window. Upon my arrival, he turned swiftly to me & walked around me. I shut my eyes, refusing to follow him again. He must have noticed my actions, apparently, because I felt him stop next to me & lean down._

_"I'll be back." he muttered into my ear, then disappeared out the door._

_When I felt his aura dissipate, I opened my eyes again & walked completely into the room, closing the door._

_I collapsed on the bed, then said to everyone loudly, "Tomorrow."_

_I felt the group's eyes move to me, but I stayed where I was, laying tiredly on the bed, the back of my hand resting on my forehead & my other hand on my stomach._

_"Tomorrow we will leave for Okinawa. Tomorrow we will find my sister. Tomorrow will not be a stressful day. Tomorrow Vincent will be better. Tomorrow I will be better. Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow..." I muttered, getting quieter & quieter as I began to drift into sleep._

_Sometimes, I truly hated being alive._

_Mrs. Jacob's Profile_

_When Remi drifted to sleep, I slowly crept over to her side & inspected her face._

_"Sister...?" Jaab whispered confusedly, but we all ignored him._

_I noticed the worry lines scattered around her face, & the grayish bags under her eyes that indicated how exhausted she was. 'Poor girl...'_

_I swiftly went into the hotel bathroom, grabbing a small washcloth & wetting it with lukewarm water from the sink. I squeezed it out, getting the excess water out. Then I brought it to Remi & placed it lightly on her forehead after I removed her arm. She sighed in her sleep, & I smiled softly._

_I turned to the group & put on my teacher face. _

_"Okay, everyone, sit down. I'm going to ask you a series of questions, & you guys are going to give me the answers, if you know them. Okay?" I instructed. They complied, & Rachel asked, "Like we used to Wednesday's after school?"_

_I nodded. "Yeah."_

_Remi's Profile_

_A series of dreams invaded my mind during the night. I relived my childhood a couple of times, I saw my death, then my rebirth as an Angel. I vaguely ran through my short life as an Angel, & then I saw myself when I was expunged from my Angel existence, & turned into a Fallen Angel. I saw when I first met Vincent, & when we were bound together by Carlyle._

_Then the more recent events came up. _

_The incident with my temporary out-of-control state, then the encounter with Adam & Edmund, then, of course, the fight with Vincent._

_I didn't see the purpose of this dream, as it was just a summary of my life & existence. 'Am I dying...?'_

_The dream repeated a second time, then a third, & I started to wonder how long this was going to take. I mean, I didn't want to go through all of this & stay asleep forever. It would be terribly boring._

_Finally, after I ran through it another three times, I understood the dream._

_I flashbacked to my last thought before I fell asleep._

_'Sometimes, I truly hated being alive.'_

_This dream was trying to tell me how much I had been through in the past one hundred & forty four years of my existence. My subconscious was trying to say that I've got too many things on my conscience to just leave for someone else to handle. I've been through too much to just give up..._

_But I wasn't suicidal, & my subconscious should now that already. _

_...Maybe it was just trying to remind me in case I were to start thinking about it sometime in the future...?_

_I dunno. But it did motivate me enough to realize that, before I can even think of giving up, my life is better than it seems._

_I shot up straight in the bed, something wet falling lightly in my lap. I looked down, surprised, to notice that it was a rag. A warm, damp rag, to be exact. I looked around the room confusedly, & saw everyone over to the side, staring at me. _

_"Are you feeling any better?" asked Mrs. Jacobs innocently. I eyed her for a moment._

_I was going to answer, but then Vincent walked in through the door swiftly. He looked at me, then said, "The pangs...Did something happen?"_

_'Was my dream really that bad...?'_

_I took a deep breath, & shook my head at him, indicating that nothing happened. Then I slowly turned to Mrs. Jacobs, who was still looking at me with concern._

_"Yeah..." I said quietly. Gratefully. "I'm okay."_


	36. Chapter 36

_"Oi! Is that her?" Alex exclaimed for the hundredth time, pointing out the window of the limo we were being transported in. I didn't even glance toward where he was pointing before I said, "No."_

_Jaab & Ken laughed when Alex sighed in defeat. The three boys had been pointing at random Japanese women throughout the two hour trip. Now that we were here, we were all looking out for a young female, about fifteen-sixteen, or a tall male dressed in black, about early twentyish, & with a cello case on his back. We decided to browse for a couple of hours before we booked into a hotel & actually went to their house. I hadn't seen Saya since she went into her long sleep nearly one hundred fifty years ago, nor have I seen Haji._

_"Hey! Over there!" yelled Jaab, but I didn't look._

_"No." I said monotonely. Jaab looked over at me & pouted like a five year old._

_"You're not even looking." he muttered. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes._

_"It's not either of them." I said, glancing at Jaab, then turning back to the window._

_"Remi." Vincent muttered urgently. I looked at him & saw that he was looking out the window opposite to mine. I spun my head around quickly, searching the crowds, my eyes jumping from face to face swiftly. I couldn't feel my sister's aura, but I could sense someone that I've met before in the crowds._

_A glint of metal shone brightly at me, but just for a second. It was long enough for me to notice it, though. My eyes were there in under a millisecond._

_Haji's cello case hung on his back loosely as he walked among the tight crowd. His hair was up in a purple ribbon, as always, & his face hidden from me, for I could only see the back of him. I turned to Vincent, who, without exchanging a single word, turned to the chauffer & told him to pull the limo over._

_"Stay here, all of you." I caught everyone's eyes quickly, then shoved the limo door open & raced out, dodging as much of the crowd I could. I caught a glimpse of Haji looking my way, & then moving out of the crowd & under the shelter of one of the buildings, his back to the store's door, facing me. I paused, too, the crowd swarming around me & continuing forward._

_I waited for everyone to pass until I could start walking again. Haji patiently waited for me._

_"Haji." I said quietly, inspecting him fully. "You look...well." I paused when my eyes met with his bandaged hand. I stifled my curiosity as best as I could, not wanting to be rude by asking about it. I brought my eyes back to his face._

_"Thank you." he nodded, & it was quiet for a moment. I decided that this was my cue to get down to business._

_"Is Saya awake?" I asked emotionlessly, hoping that she was so that we had a place to stay for awhile._

_"Yes, she is." he replied, equally emotionlessly._

_"Do you guys mind if Vincent, me, & some of my friends stay with you two for a little while? Probably only about a week, though. We've run into a bit of a problem, & we need to keep moving around for some time..." I trailed off, not wanting to go further. Haji nodded._

_"Saya will be happy to see you again, Remi. I'm glad that you are well." Haji said. "We are staying in a hotel at the moment. I'll show you the way."_

_He jumped up on to the roof of the building we were standing next to, & I looked back at Vincent, who told the chauffer to start the limo. I followed Haji's lead, & we quickly began our way to my sister's temporary home with Vincent on our trail._

_The elevator came to a slow stop, & we all stepped out of the little box as a group. Haji then got in the lead & took a few steps to a tan door on the right of the hallway, slipping the keycard through the slot, then opening the door. He entered first, then me, Vincent, Mrs. Jacobs, & so on. Vincent stood behind me to the right, & Mrs. Jacobs' group got into a small group behind me, silently observing the hotel room, looking for Saya. _

_Haji walked into the hallway to our left & entered a room that I suspected to be Saya's bedroom. Haji reappeared moments later, Saya walking behind him slowly. When Haji came to a stop in front of us, Saya walked around Haji hesitantly, then brought her eyes up to mine guiltily. I gazed at her for a few seconds before I realized why she looked so guilty._

_She couldn't remember who I was._

_I straightened slightly, but took a step forward, extending my hand._

_"Saya?" I asked, raising my head an inch. She bit her lip._

_"You don't remember me, do you?" I asked quietly, & she looked down._

_"No." she whispered, & I barely hid a small flinch. I kept my emotions locked carefully in that imaginary box in my mind. I nodded, then looked over at Haji._

_"She was...awakened forcefully, correct?" I asked him. He nodded._

_"Doesn't remember anything?" I clarified. He shook his head, then said, "She remembers over time."_

_I nodded again, then brought my gaze back to my little sister. Her eyes were still on the floor. I stifled a sigh, dropping my hand._

_"Saya-neechan." I whispered, waiting for a reaction. I saw her wince slightly, becoming even guiltier now that she heard me say to her pretty bluntly that I was her sister. She must not even remember that._

_"You'll remember over time." I said, & she raised her head. I extended my hand again. "In the meantime, I'll introduce myself to you again." On the last word, my voice quavered slightly, & she noticed. I bit back the small emotion that was surfacing, willing it to go away. I cleared my throat, then grabbed Saya's hand & shook it._

_"My name is Remi Santoni. I am your sister, but we aren't twins, or anything. I was already about thirty eight years old mentally when you & Diva were discovered with our...mother. I was adopted by a different family when I was born, & my family brought me to Mikomi, a world a lot like Earth. We met for the first time about one hundred & fifty years ago, after my adoptive parents died, & when you were twenty four years old." I paused, letting her absorb it all. I saw her face flicker to different emotions a couple of times, & then her eyes shut, & Haji wrapped an arm around her waist. "Saya...?" he whispered. She nodded._

_"I remember...pieces." she said in a hushed voice, opening her eyes to look at me._

_"You were wearing a black & white dress, & you didn't have a katana back then." she stopped, & smiled apologetically. _

_"That's all I remember...so far."_

_I nodded. "Is it alright if we stay here for a little while?" I asked her. She nodded._

_"Please do."_

_After dinner, everyone sat in the living room to discuss the most important events that have happened, are happening, & will be happening. I was to tell them my purpose of being here first, & then they would tell me. I let out a loud breath, & began speaking when everyone was situated._

_"I started to work with the assassination group 'Ashi' a couple years after I met Saya & Haji." I stopped, observing the faces around me. Most were surprised, except for Saya & of course Haji. Saya's face was confused._

_"What kind of people does 'Ashi' assassinate...?" she asked, but from the reactions in the room, she probably already could guess._

_"Mostly people who are...good. If Tsukangi, the leader of 'Ashi', knew about you all, he probably would have sent a group of members from'Ashi' after you to assassinate you all." I replied, looking around at everyone again. _

_"Why would you join such a terrible organization like that?" David, one of the people trying to help Saya with the assassination of all chiroptera & our third sister, Diva._

_"I didn't join voluntarily." I muttered. "I would never join that kind of organization voluntarily. I was forced..." I hesitated, not wanting to continue into this long story. I sighed, shaking my head, trying to summarize the whole ordeal into two or three simple sentences.. "I was forced because I fought them to protect Vincent. He was attacked because he accidentally butted in on something. I happened to be around when he was fighting, & I helped him. We lost, so we had to join or we would die." I rushed the words out, then continued._

_"Anyway, a couple weeks ago, I refused to comply with Tsukangi's orders to kill Mrs. Jacobs' group because they had witnessed an extermination of one of the Devil's demons. Ever since then, I've been on the run with them & Vincent." I took a deep breath, pausing for the longest moment. Then I said, "That is why I came here. If the last battle with 'Ashi' happens to be here, I'll need your help."_

_I looked at them cautiously, trying to decipher their expressions. They all looked...sympathetic, except for Haji, who had no expression whatsoever._

_"Sure. If any 'Ashi' members come after you when you're here, we'll help you." Saya said brightly, smiling kindly at me. I sighed mentally._

_"Thanks."_

_For the first time this week, I slept soundly the entire night. _


	37. Chapter 37

_We were attacked the next morning. _

_I was barely awake when Vincent came through the window, grabbing me roughly & tugging me into the other room._

_"It's Adam & Edmund." he whispered urgently, wrapping his arms protectively around my waist & under my knees, suddenly knocking my legs out from under me & cradling me in his arms. Then he raced out of the room, nearly taking down the front door. I had yet to ask him what he was doing._

_"They seemed to have Earth under surveillance, since we had already been here. They tracked us amazingly quickly, barely twenty-four hours." Vincent continued as we rushed down the stairs. I was still trying to comprehend what was happening. My brain hadn't caught up with my body yet. I shut my eyes._

_"What are we doing?" I said groggily, burying my face into Vincent's chest absentmindedly. _

_"We are going to meet them, & try to slow them down-" he cut off then, stopping abruptly. His arms were the only things keeping me from pitching forward onto the ground. I raised my head, looking confusedly at him. He was looking back at me._

_"-Right?" he finished, asking me a question. It took me a second or two to understand. I shook my head, trying to rid of the tiredness._

_"Yeah." I said, not really knowing what I was saying. I winced when we suddenly stepped into a direct ray of the sun. When I finally opened my eyes again, I realized that we were on the roof. I looked around the area, & saw two figures standing toward our left, farthest from us._

_Adam & Edmund._

_"Good morning, Remi-chan! Your nightgown is very attractive on you, you know." I heard Edmund say from the other side of the roof. I looked over at him & noticed that he was grinning. Next to him, Adam was glaring in my direction. I cursed under my breath._

_Vincent snarled._

_He let me down then, & I slowly took a few steps forward, a little wobbly. 'Crap, this will be a problem.'_

_Vincent handed me my ninjato, which I didn't notice that Vincent had until now. I stretched my legs as I reached over & took it._

_"Would you start the portal in Saya's hotel room, please? Remember to wake up the kids." I said to him, still kind of groggy._

_"I already did. They're waiting for us. I'll go down now." he replied, disappearing into the hotel. Adam reacted almost immediately._

_"Edmund, follow Vincent." Adam ordered, & I shut my eyes._

_'One on one, eh?'_

_Edmund slowly began his way across the rooftop, & both Adam & I stood stock-still. Edmund passed me, & I felt his shoulder brush my arm. I didn't reopen my eyes when I attacked him suddenly._

_I brought my ninjato around my body fast, aiming to strike him in the back. He blocked with his hand, blood dripping down his arm idly. Time seemed to slow at that moment, the only things moving being our hair, which was being tousled playfully by the wind, & our chests, which were moving up & down to the beating of our hearts. We met each others' eyes, & we just stood there for a moment._

_Then I spun out of the semi-failed attack, getting into position, blocking the door. Edmund stood straight, then flexed his arm muscles, & attacked._

_He came at me quickly, & I barely caught his fist before it slammed into my face. I staggered a few steps back, then ran at him, my ninjato raised. I aimed to bring it down on his shoulder, but he blocked it with his bandaged wrist. I growled angrily, spinning in a full circle & attacking his left shoulder. He blocked again, injuring his arm in the process. Then we both jumped back, me landing inches away from the wall, & him landing a few feet away from Adam. I shivered from the morning chill. My thin nightgown barely reached my knees._

_That's when Saya suddenly burst through the roof's entrance, the door centimeters away from crashing into my cold figure. Haji followed behind her almost immediately, not even glancing back to look at me. I let out a slow breath as Saya swung her katana at Adam, who blocked & threw her back a couple inches. Haji had caught her just as I whizzed past both of them, attacking Adam straight on._

_I brought my ninjato toward his rib cage, but he dodged out of the way, pulling out one of his many guns & aiming at me. I flipped back & behind the roof door as he shot two rounds at me. I grit my teeth as I felt a bullet fly past my arm, barely grazing it. I felt the warm, crimson liquid begin its journey down my arm. I shivered again as I jumped out from behind the door a second later. _

_Saya was still attacking Adam uselessly, with Haji protecting her from every weapon that was swung or shot at her. It reminded me, just for a second, of Vincent & me. I could see it, Haji being Vincent & Saya being me. It was only there for a moment, but when it was gone, the thought seemed to linger in my mind for a few more seconds before I was attacked by Edmund, who only half-heartedly punched at me. I blocked it easily, first grabbing his wrist, & then the inside part of his elbow, slamming his back into the stone wall next to the roof entrance/exit. We stood there for less than a second, just staring. I could see the regret in his eyes for not joining Vincent & my group, but I could also see the other part of him that was telling him that he was safer without us._

_I gave him another second to protect himself in some way, & then I bluntly hit him in the face, aiming to hurt him but not knock him out. I heard the impact of the back of his head on the wall, & I saw the wince of pain flash across his face. I could feel the momentary guilt invade my senses, but I pushed it out of my mind. We were enemies now. He was with Adam._

_He recovered quickly, pushing me away from him hard & swinging again at me. I could see the regret vanish from his eyes, his stony face telling me that he believed he made the right decision of staying with Adam. It was all bullshit to me, but that's not my problem._

_His punches & kicks were forcing me to back up hurriedly, as to not be struck by the strong attacks. I was backing up toward Adam, Saya, & Haji quickly. Haji must have saw my problem, because he was suddenly in front of me, attacking Edmund so I could get away. I barely had the chance to thank him before I sensed Adam coming at me in a quick sprint. I spun around & blocked with my ninjato, but his fist came in contact with my gut when I left it unprotected while I blocked his katana. I flew back a couple of inches, centimeters away from Haji & Edmund. When I recovered seconds later, Saya had attacked Adam yet again, protecting me from him. It was then when a thought hit me._

_Everyone was trying to protect me. Everyone._

_Haji & Saya were keeping Adam & Edmund occupied so that they wouldn't get to me, or anyone else in their hotel room, I guess._

_Then back in Konoha, Ken had managed to get Adam away from me before he could get to me & attack me._

_& of course Vincent, who'd been there to protect me for so many years. He was in the hotel room right now to get us all out of here, to keep us safe._

_So many people here who were ready to give it all to protect me & my human acquaintances. It was so...weird. Yet so very familiar. _

_I looked up at Saya just then, & I saw that Adam was doing his running-so-fast-that-you-can't-see-me thing. Saya was looking around wildly, searching for Adam, who was hidden by his speed from her. I looked over at Haji at that time, & saw that he was so preoccupied with his fight that he didn't see what was happening. I don't blame him; everything was happening so fast._

_I saw Adam start closing in on Saya, who was completely oblivious to this. I knew what I had to do the split-second before I had to do it._

_I stood quickly, rushing over to Saya as fast as I could. When Adam got in my way, I jumped right over him, my hands on his shoulders to boost me up. Then I grabbed him by the shoulder of his jacket, slowing him down drastically. I pulled him back hard, but it wasn't hard enough. I let go quickly, sailing over toward Saya, blocking her with my body, my ninjato raised to a significant height. Saya turned to me just before Adam attacked, & I blocked as well as I could._

_I was thrown back a couple of feet, knocking Saya to the ground, but I kept my footing. I shut my eyes tightly, putting more pressure on the blade of my ninjato. Then I felt a sudden whoosh of aim on my right, & that's when I knew the fight was over._

_I felt the blade of Edmund's kunai press against my neck hard, but not breaking skin. It felt cold against my flesh._

_That's when I opened my eyes, nearly nose-to-nose with Adam, who's grin was slowly spreading across his face._

_"Got you."_


	38. Chapter 38

_Adam grinned at me with glee, & I cursed loudly in my head. I was captured, & there was no way out._

_I averted my eyes toward Haji, who was supporting Saya a few yards away after he got her out of Edmund's path to me. Saya was staring angrily toward Adam, who was in the process of turning to face them._

_& that's when Jaab appeared in the door._

_"The portal's rea..." he trailed off, seeing the situation. I saw confusion flash across his face, then anger._

_"Oh, fuck..." he muttered._

_"Go through the portal now!" I shouted at him, making him jump slightly. I felt the blade of Edmund's kunai press harder against my neck, but I ignored it._

_"We're not going anywhere without you." Jaab said, but I saw the doubt flash across his face as Adam started walking menacingly toward him._

_"Damnit, Jaab, tell Vincent that I order him to go! YOU ALL NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" I screamed, & Jaab took a few steps back. _

_"JAAB! RUN!" I yelled as Adam started running at him. Jaab pulled the door shut & I heard his feet quickly rushing down the steps inside. I cursed again, trying to pull out of Edmund's grasp to go stop Adam, but he wrapped his arm securely around my waist, making escape impossible. My eyes turned a deep orange as I struggled harder._

_Adam reached the door just when I heard the hotel room door shut & get locked. I could just faintly hear the whirring of the portal as someone stepped through it. 'That's one.'_

_A second, third, & fourth person stepped through the portal as Adam made his way down the steps toward the hotel room, & just when he got the hotel room, I could hear everyone else go through the portal, except one._

_Vincent._

_'Damnit, Vincent, GO!' I screamed in my head uselessly._

_Adam kicked the door once, breaking one of the hinges right off the bat. The portal was silent._

_It was kicked a second time, the knob breaking. No one went through the portal._

_A third time, & the second of three hinges were broken. Vincent was motionless._

_On the fourth try, the door collapsed to the ground, revealing Adam to Vincent. I felt a sickening kind of feeling rush down my spine that could only be identified as a mixture of terror & frustration._

_"DAMNIT, VINCENT, GO THROUGH THE FUCKING PORTAL!" I screamed, totally destroying my voice. I didn't know if he heard me, but if he did, he had to obey. He had to._

_Adam stepped forward, his apparel & weapons clanking together._

_& Vincent disappeared through the portal, the swirling mixture of colors disappearing from the trashed hotel room milliseconds later. I let out a surprisingly relieved sigh, dropping my head a few inches. I still didn't feel the prick of the kunai when it broke skin, a small trickle of blood staining my white gown._

_I heard Adam suck in a deep, rough breath in fury from the hotel room._

_"YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE, BITCH!" He yelled at me from the hotel room, & I couldn't help but flinch._

_Saya & Haji were still on the roof, watching & listening to the frightening events in amazement. I turned to them, & said in a low whisper, "Please go, before they take you, too."_

_Saya looked at me, tears welling up in her eyes. "No! I can't let them take you! No!"_

_"I can't let them take you, either. Please." I pleaded, & I felt a small expression flicker across my face. I felt helpless for the first time in my existence._

_Haji took Saya's waist, pulling her into his arms effortlessly. He proceeded to the edge of the roof, jumping to the street level. Saya's eyes never left mine until she disappeared from my line of vision. I bit my lip._

_Adam appeared just then, growling like a wild animal. He was in front of me before I could blink, & his fist connected with my face. I was out like a light._

_Or more like a broken light bulb that's been crushed under the shoe of an angry frustrated evil man that hates light bulbs._

_Vincent's Profile_

_I landed hard on my back when I flew out of the portal, & I didn't bother to get back up. I laid right in the middle of the concrete sidewalk, my eyes shut & my limbs sprawled around me. I couldn't think properly for a few minutes, other than, 'I failed.'_

_I failed I failed I failed._

_Remi's going to die because I couldn't keep my promise. My oath._

_I wanted to die so badly right now. Just have a random person shoot me in the head & then run me over a couple times. Better yet, have someone drag me away & slowly quarter me into small pieces, starting with my feet & legs, then my arms, then my torso. That's about how bad I felt, times one thousand. One million._

_"Vincent, get the hell up, would you?" I heard Mrs. Jacobs say irritably, & I opened my eyes slowly, locating Mrs. Jacobs lazily. She was looking down at me, with a raised eyebrow. For some reason, it angered me. I was going to act childish & refuse to get up, but then I remembered that I wasn't exactly five years old right now. Although, I wished passionately that I was. I wish I had never been born._

_I sat up then, looking around to make sure that everyone was here. _

_Jaab was standing farthest away, anxiously pacing, along with Calvin. Rachel, was gnawing her lip worriedly, probably reading Jaab's & Calvin's minds. Ken & Alex were looking confusedly at the small group, completely oblivious to the gigantic problem we were facing. Mrs. Jacobs was still standing over me with her raised eyebrow. I concluded that she didn't know, either._

_"Where's Remi?" Alex asked, looking at me. I saw Calvin & Jaab stop sharply, turning to me. Rachel turned, too, but slower. Everyone else seemed to be listening, too._

_I gazed around the area, the familiar streets looking just as depressing as ever. I brought my eyes back to the group a few minutes later, & I opened my mouth._

_"She was kidnapped by Adam & Edmund." Jaab spoke for me, & I quickly brought my eyes over to him. He was looking straight at me._

_"They are probably going to kill her off in the next few days if she doesn't provide any information on our whereabouts. If she does, then she has about a week." Calvin informed everyone, & I resisted flinching._

_"But we're not going to let that happen." Jaab continued for Calvin. "We're going to save her, & pay her back for all the saving she's done for us."_

_Mrs. Jacobs smiled, looking down at me. "Sounds good?" she asked me, grinning slightly. I was stunned at this sudden compromise. I didn't know how to respond._

_Rachel skipped up to me, smiling at me, then Mrs. Jacobs._

_"His speechlessness means that he's okay with it, right?" she said to Mrs. Jacobs, then looking at me. I nodded. Her smile brightened._

_"Then let's go bring her bad ass back!" Alex & Ken shouted, & I couldn't help but feel a little better._


	39. Chapter 39

_Remi's Profile_

_I was sharply awakened when I was thrown to the concrete floor by Adam, who was glaring daggers at my small form. I glared back, pissed at him for everything he's done._

_'To think that I was ever comrades with him...'_

_The prison cell door was shut with a bang, the tiny windowpane at the top of the concrete door quivering from the force. I shivered along with it._

_When I finally got my head cleared of grogginess, I sat up & looked around the stony, cold cell. _

_Everything was concrete. The floor, the ceiling, even the door. There were no bars to reach out through, nor a small slot at the bottom of the door to pass food in or out. The only window was built in at the top of the door, & was no doubt made of bulletproof glass. I cursed to myself, collapsing on my back again, staring at the ceiling. How the fuck was I getting out of this?_

_Vincent's Profile_

_I quickly leaded the group through the depressing, grey buildings that made up Mikomi, searching for Remi's & my condominium. It had been two hours & a half since we switched worlds, & I was already growing anxious. 'What if Calvin & Jaab were wrong? What if they were going to kill Remi sooner? How much time do we really have?'_

_Rachel came up to my side, her smile surprisingly relaxed & reassuring for once._

_"Don't worry; she's okay. Just kind of...pissed off, though." she said to me, & my eyes widened when I stopped in my tracks._

_I turned to Rachel suddenly, & she jumped._

_"What...?" she mumbled. I ignored it._

_"You can hear her thoughts?" I asked urgently. She nodded. I heard Calvin groan at Rachel's stupidity._

_"What is she thinking right now?" I asked. Rachel closed her eyes, concentrating hard._

_"Uuh...She's observing the cell she's being kept in...Now she's wondering how she's going to get out of where she is...She's guessing that she's in Tsukangi's hideout...She's kind of drifting into sleep, now, I guess. Her thought process is slowing down rapidly." Rachel spoke, & I took in a deep, slow breath._

_"Can you send a message to her?" I asked. She shook her head._

_"I can only hear her because she's around us a lot. When we switched worlds, it breaks the connection to send messages. It's quite confusing." Rachel informed me, & I stood up straight. I resisted the urge to groan as I continued on._

_'Well, she's still alive. That's good.' _

_I looked back at Calvin, who was in deep thought. Then I looked at Rachel, who seemed to be concentrating on Remi's thoughts again, her eyes holding that far away look. I turned back around, beginning my search for the apartment building again._

_After another twenty minutes of searching, I came to a stop in front of a dark grey building, no windows & one glass door that had been shattered years ago in one of Remi's & my fights with some other assassin we ran in to. I proceeded up the steps cautiously, motioning for the group to stay outside. Then I disappeared into the building._

_Even before I reached the first floor of the building, I could tell that there were people in our room. I could sense the dark aura of two fallen angels, probably Jordan & Dominick. They were lowerclassmen that were always sent to work as lookouts & bodyguards for minor people. I could disarm them effortlessly, but I chose not to. If they suddenly stopped reporting to Tsukangi, then he would know something was up. I quietly crept back down the few steps I had been standing on, silently going through the door & back to the group._

_"We're going to a hotel for the time being." I told them when we began walking again. They were quiet, understanding why._

_This was going to be a very difficult rescue mission._

_Remi's Profile_

_I woke up gradually, my body as well as my mind feeling like they were a thousand pounds. Upon waking, disorientation settled in my stomach for a few minutes, & I didn't remember where I was. I looked around wildly, reaching for my ninjato. Of course, my ninjato had been taken from me by Adam, to be added with his endless collection of weapons._

_When I finally recalled what happened, I let out an annoyed sigh. I couldn't tell what time it was, but it felt like I was asleep for a long time. I probably was, judging on how the guards outside my cell & my neighbors' cell were asleep, a 48 hour shadow developing among both of their faces._

_I stood up & wobbled for a second or two, trying to catch my balance from sitting down for so long. My back had a few painful knots cramped in it, & my body hurt like hell from sleeping on the floor. I stretched out a couple of times, trying to get some of the kinks out. _

_Then, after cracking my neck on both sides, I began running toward the wall, attempting to run up along it & seeing if I could reach the ceiling. It took a few tries, but my fingertips managed to brush the ceiling numerous amounts of times. I continued doing that until I could place both hands on it, trying to stay in that position for a few seconds. _

_When I finally ran out of breath doing that, I summoned some of my magic to try & break down the door. My tries were useless, unfortunately, because the door was laced with magic to make the door invincible. I gave up after about ten minutes, moving on to doing something else._

_I spent most of the day (or night) doing that, & other things, just to waste time & strengthen my abilities as much as I could. By the time I had no strength left in me to even stand, the door was opened by none other than Adam, who roughly pulled me to my feet & dragged me out of the cell._

_"Where are you taking me?" I asked hoarsely. He ignored me & tightened his grip on my arm. I forced myself to ignore the pain & to stand up & walk with him._

_We came to the end of the plain walls, where Adam took out a set of keys & unlocked the door in front of us. He kicked it open & revealed an even plainer grey room, the only difference being that it was huge, about the size of a football field. It was almost completely empty, too, except for a large chair to my right, about eight yards away from the wall, & then my ninjato & .45 in the center of the room. I inhaled sharply, almost inaudibly, as I realized what was going down._

_"Good evening, Remi." greeted an unfortunately familiar voice. I slowly turned my head in the direction of the voice, already knowing who it was._

_Tsukangi grinned evilly at me, his red eyes gleaming with the glee of having captured me finally. I glared angrily, which only fueled his happiness. If you could call it happiness. I don't think this...'thing' even feels emotions, or sympathy, or anything. All he feels is anger, envy, & hate. Pure evil, if you ask me._

_I said nothing to my former boss, & just stared unemotionally at him. He stared right back, his eyes red as blood, & looking as if he could see in to my soul. I bit back a shiver._

_"Well, my dear, let us begin our little game, shall we?" Tsukangi sneered, & Adam pushed me into the big room, then shut the door with him still inside the room, locking it securely. I hissed, narrowing my eyes at the door. I heard him laugh lightly as he stepped around me to Tsukangi's side. That was the first time I noticed Edmund standing next to Tsukangi, his stony face as cold as the concrete beneath my feet. I eyed the three suspiciously._

_"So, Edmund took my place as second, I'm guessing?" I inferred, because where Edmund was right now was where I used to be so many weeks ago. Yes, only weeks. It went by so fast._

_Tsukangi smirked. "As a matter of fact, yes, he did. Jealous?"_

_I stared at Tsukangi for a moment, then said, "How could I be? I'm happy for his promotion. Congratulations. How are you liking it?" I directed my question to Edmund, raising my chin an inch or so higher._

_Edmund didn't reply, just stared at me. Adam spoke for him. "He's so honored, he's speechless." he laughed. Edmund didn't respond to any of this. I lowered my chin, then gazed at Edmund. He looked back, & we held each other's eyes for a moment. I kept staring until he looked away, then I watched him fidget with the bandage on his arm, not looking back up at me._

_"What do you want me to do?" I muttered, looking back at Tsukangi, & I saw Edmund look up in my peripheral vision. I didn't look at him._

_Tsukangi grinned._

_"I want you to fight me." he announced, standing straighter, his chest lifting in pride. I would have groaned if this were a different situation. _

_I nodded at him, shuffling over to my weapons._

_"Am I going to fight the three of you, or just you?" I asked Tsukangi, who immediately replied, "Just me."_

_I didn't reply, but instead picked up my sheathed ninjato, & left my gun on the ground. Then I looked back up & around the room, looking for a clock. I spotted one in the corner of the room, but I still asked, "How long has it been?"_

_"Three days." Edmund muttered quietly. I still refused to look at him when I nodded._

_"We drugged you on the second day, that's why it seems to have been shorter." Adam informed me. I nodded again, numbly. Then I turned & faced Tsukangi, staring him straight in the eyes. He stared straight back._

_"Let's get this over with, then." _


	40. Chapter 40

_This chapter's a little lame, but it's how I thought this story up, so it has to be here. I hope you guys enjoy it anyway._

_3rd Person, Vincent & Mrs. Jacobs' Group_

_(The morning following Remi's capture)_

_Jaab woke with a start, sitting up straight in bed. He shook his head mechanically, then turned to me. Vincent was staring at him from the corner of the worn down, abandoned house a few blocks away from Remi's apartment. He was previously gazing out the shattered glass of the window, his mind wandering lazily from thought to thought, mostly focusing on Remi, though._

_"They're going to fight her. Soon. She's..." Jaab trailed off, then muttered bitterly, "...going to lose."_

_The room was silent, except for the quiet snores & restlessness that plagued the sleeping group members, not including Vincent & Jaab. They sat, staring at each other, both thinking the same thing._

_'If we're going to save Remi, we need to do it soon.'_

_"I have an idea." Calvin proposed during breakfast. All eyes were on him the second he spoke. He caught everyone's eye meaningfully, & then continued._

_"Well, we know that she's in Mikomi, most likely in Tsukangi's hideout. We also know where Tsukangi's hideout is, & where she's going to be in the next day; correct?" he turned to Jaab, who, when everyone woke up, repeated his whole dream to the group. The dream was mostly her fighting with Tsukangi, & what would happen during the fight. It would end abruptly when Remi falls to her knees, & Tsukangi suddenly being in front of her, katana at her neck. The dream ended there._

_"Right." Jaab replied, eyes fixed on Calvin._

_"Well, there are many possibilities. We could raid the building before the fight, during the fight, or after the fight. If we go before, then we risk the possibility that Adam, Edmund, or Tsukangi might pop up before we get to Remi. If we go during, then if we are detected, Tsukangi will only kill Remi faster. If we go after, then we might be too late._

_"The best possibility, in my opinion, is that we go after. According to Jaab's dream, Remi saw a clock in the back of the room that read 2:37pm. If we get to the building by 2:15pm, then raid around 2:30ish, then we would have the best chance of saving her. _

_"But that is only assuming that...everyone makes it to her alive..." Calvin finished, looking at everyone's reactions. Most were completely serious, considering everything he had just said._

_"I think that is...an excellent proposition." Vincent said, looking Calvin straight in the eyes._

_"Thank you."_

_The room was quiet then, as they all pondered on how the hell they were going to pull this off._

_"How the hell are we going to pull this off?" asked Mrs. Jacobs, raising her eyebrow._

_"Well..." Alex muttered, looking down at the ground. "First of all, we're going to need...a hell of a lot of guns."_

_Ken grinned. "& ammo."_

_"Yes. Lots & lots of ammo..."_

_Same Profile, Different Day_

_(A few hours before Tsukangi & Remi fight)_

_"Saweet! I totally got a semiautomatic!!" exclaimed Ken as Vincent dropped a M-9 Semiautomatic Pistol in Ken's lap. _

_Rachel's eyes were wide with fright as Vincent walked up to her to give her a weapon._

_"I hate guns..." she muttered quietly, nervously eying Vincent as he thought to himself silently._

_After a minute or two of silence, he finally started searching through the bag of weapons that had simultaneously showed up ten minutes earlier._

_"It's called a speedchuck." Vincent told Rachel when he finally pulled out the chosen weapon. _

_Rachel took hold of it gingerly, as if it would blow up in her face. _

_"Thanks..." Rachel trailed off, amazed by how well Vincent knew her._

_He moved on to Alex, who grinned up at Vincent greedily. _

_Vincent pulled out two Tonfas, giving both of them to Alex. _

_"Score!" Alex yelled, jumping up & playing with them like an eight year old. Vincent moved on._

_Calvin came next. He sat patiently in one of the few chairs in the room, looking at Vincent with mild interest. Vincent only took a second to decide._

_He handed Calvin two double-sided blades the size of his hand, used in close combat._

_"Thank you." Calvin said respectfully, & placed the weapon in his lap. Vincent nodded, then continued to Jaab._

_"I don't need a weapon, really." Jaab said anxiously. Vincent glanced into his bag of goodies, then looked back at Jaab. They looked at each other for a moment, silently. Then Vincent turned around & walked to the other side of the room, toward the corner. Jaab stared after him confusedly._

_Then Jaab saw the two wooden sticks in the corner where Vincent was heading. Rattan Escrima sticks, they were called. They were for close combat fights. Jaab's eyes widened, but before he could protest, Vincent was there, holding them out to Jaab._

_"Take them. For protection." Vincent said, & Jaab took them._

_Mrs. Jacobs was a toughie. Vincent only went to her last because he honestly didn't know what to give her. She sat at the end of her bed, glaring impatiently at Vincent. She knew that Vincent didn't know what to give her._

_"Just give me a gun." Mrs. Jacobs muttered, rolling her eyes. Vincent immediately complied & pulled out a P14•45 pistol, handing it to Mrs. Jacobs._

_She held it up at eye level, aiming it out the window. Then she snorted, grinning slightly & rolling her eyes again._

_"Shit..." she muttered, lowering the gun. Then she nodded gratefully at Vincent. "Thanks."_

_Vincent nodded back, then proceeded to the backpacks & cloth bags piled on the floor in the middle of the room. He grabbed a random bag & stuffed the bag of weapons in it, dropping it back in the pile. Jaab came up behind him as he checked the rest of the bags, looking through them to make sure they had everything; Ammo, cell phones, walkie-talkies, ammo, weapons, a laptop just in case, more ammo, more weapons, some water, a small bag of donated blood for Remi if she needed it, more weapons, ammo, ammo, & ammo._

_"So how are we going to do this? Just suddenly show up &...raid?" Jaab ended lamely, but he got his point across. Vincent paused his searching, glancing at Jaab swiftly._

_"Exactly." he said, nodding abruptly. Then he went back to his searching. Jaab stared at him in a dumbfounded state, but recovered quickly. He began walking away, but then Vincent sharply stood up, alerting everyone in the room. His eyes focused on the door, concentrating hard._

_The room went from a low buzzing of nervous laughter & talking, to completely silent. They all stared at the door._

_The door burst open nearly a second later to reveal Saya & Haji. Rachel let out a surprised squeak when they came to a sharp stop in front of Vincent, who twitched slightly._

_"Vincent!" Saya let out a sigh, looking at him worriedly. "Is she-What are you...-Remi...?" _

_Vincent nodded in understanding. "We were just going to retrieve her in about two & a half hours. She's being held at Tsukangi's hideout. We were going to raid the building around 2:00pm this afternoon."_

_Saya nodded strictly. "We'll come fight, too." _

_"We'll need the backup." Vincent said, then continued. "Did you have to pay for a portal here?" he asked Saya, & she smiled lightly._

_"Yes. But it was worth it." Saya replied, & Vincent almost smiled. Almost._

_Same Day, Same Profile, Same People, Different Time_

_(1:50pmish)_

_"Ladies first." Jaab said politely as he held the door open for Mrs. Jacobs. She thanked him kindly & stepped out of the small house they had been staying in, so that everyone else could exit the worn home, too._

_Vincent took the lead once he got out, directing the group through the depressing sameness of all the Mikomi buildings & houses. Hagi stayed in the back of the group with Saya, who was attempting to socialize with Rachel. Rachel, however, was not in the mood to talk. In fact, no one was. Saya soon gave up after many failed attempts to start a conversation._

_"All of the Ashi members have to have a house or apartment near the hideout, so we're not too far away. We're actually probably closer to the hideout than many other members are." Vincent informed the group. There were a few grunts, but nothing else._

_When ten minutes of walking passed, Vincent stopped suddenly. The group looked questionably at Vincent, who's head was turned to the left._

_"Vincent...?" Saya asked. Vincent turned to her & muttered, "Cloud."_

_Saya's confused look disappeared to be replaced by a look of realization, & then happiness._

_Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Red, Yuffie, Cid, & Cait appeared suddenly around the corner in front of Vincent. Cloud, who was leading the group, stopped suddenly when he caught sight of Vincent. Tifa smiled brightly, along with Yuffie. Barret grunted in approval, & Cid raised his stick-thing, & yelled, "Yo!"_

_Everyone else was silent._

_Saya walked up to Vincent & said, "I kind of informed them about this whole thing, too." she smiled at Vincent, who just stared down at her._

_"Who else did you tell?"_

_"Well, of course, Naruto had to know." Saya replied, & Vincent nodded._

_"Of course." muttered Vincent just as Naruto & his group ran around the corner to our left._


	41. Chapter 41

_3rd Profile_

_(2:15pm)_

_Remi angrily glared up at Tsukangi as she felt the tip of his katana press against her neck with a little more force than needed. He grinned back down at her, & she tightened her fists that were currently resting on the ground. This was not looking so good._

_"Any last words?" Tsukangi asked with pure glee. Remi hissed, closing her eyes._

_"Fuck you, asswipe." Remi muttered through grit teeth, waiting for the sharp tip of his katana to pierce her neck. She heard him laugh evilly as he put more pressure on the katana. She could tell from how slow he was pressing the katana on her bare neck that he was wanting to make her death slow & painful. She cursed loudly._

_Just when she was about to let go of all hope, she sensed a familiar presence near. _

_A very familiar presence. She had only seen her a few days ago._

_Remi barely choked out her name in surprise before a part of the grey wall to her right caved in, revealing Sakura & her chakra-enveloped hand in a punching position. When she spotted Remi on the ground in front of her, she smiled politely at her, then stepped through the gaping hole in the wall she had just made._

_Remi let out another surprised choke when she heard a series of gunshots against the wall directly behind her, & she spun around just in time to see that portion of the wall to cave in & reveal Barret, Cait Sith, Yuffie, & Cid. They were grinning widely when the wall fell, & grinned even wider when they saw Remi._

_Then, of course, there was the area of the wall to Remi's left that was currently being chopped to bits. Cloud's sword poked out through the wall just as it crashed to the ground to show Cloud, Red, Saya, & Haji. They all kept completely serious faces as the wall fell. Remi let out a small sigh._

_She barely had time to blink before she heard two loud yells from behind her. Remi turned around to the front of the room & watched Naruto & Kakashi crash through the wall with their Rasengan & Chidori. Naruto smiled nervously at Remi when he saw her, & Kakashi nodded in her direction. By this time, Remi finally became un-surprised enough to nod back at him._

_Remi turned to Tsukangi then, who had backed off of her the moment the raid had begun. His katana was raised in defense, & Adam & Edmund surrounded him in protective stances. She looked at them for only a second though, because she wasn't really looking for them. She was looking for Vincent._

_She spun around in a full circle, flashing from face to face quickly, until she came to a stop facing Saya. She smiled lightly at Remi & pointed toward the ceiling. Remi looked at her confusedly for a few seconds, & then looked up._

_The ceiling was cracked severely near the middle of it, & that's when Remi felt the small pieces of plaster falling on her head lightly, slipping down onto her shoulders & then on the floor. That's also when she located Vincent's presence; approximately eight yards above her head._

_She had only a split second to think this, though, because Vincent crashed through the ceiling just seconds later. He hit the ground hard next to Remi, & she flinched at the thought of how painful the landing must have been. Regardless, Vincent stood immediately after the crash landing, positioning himself directly in front of Remi. His gun was raised to eye level, aimed at Tsukangi's little group. He began firing shots instantly, but Adam brought out one of his many huge swords & blocked himself as well as Tsukangi from the flying bullets. Edmund was stuck with only his wings to protect him._

_The fighting ensued at about that time then, & Remi quickly gathered her gun & ninjato, running at Adam at once. Saya, Hagi Naruto, Kakashi, & Sakura followed her, while everyone else fought with the guards who were currently pouring into the room, ready for battle. Vincent continued shooting at Adam while Saya, Haji, Kakashi's group, & Remi fought close combat with him. _

_Edmund was quietly observing this all take place, not picking a fight or protecting anyone but himself. When Adam finally remembered Edmund's existence, he yelled for him to help._

_"Edmund, get your freaking ass over here & protect your goddamn employer!" Adam yelled angrily to Ed, who was in such a deep thought that he didn't hear Adam at all._

_Edmund was currently at war within himself. He had one very important choice to make, & he had to make it now._

_Was he on Tsukangi's side, or on Remi's?_

_When Tsukangi had Remi locked in place with his katana, ready to kill her, Edmund was about ready to jump in & start fighting with Tsukangi, to protect Remi. Edmund would have, too, if Vincent & his group didn't come & fight with Tsukangi themselves. Ed would be forever grateful to them for saving his ass._

_But then there was the fact that Tsukangi was Ed's employer. He got his money from Tsukangi, who, in return, didn't kill Ed. That had to count for something, didn't it?_

_Edmund heard a sudden cry in pain to his left, & he turned sharply in that direction. He saw Adam's sword run across Remi's shoulder, which had begun to bleed. Ed's fists clenched tightly as he finally made up his mind; He was on Remi's side definitely._

_Edmund started over to Remi, stretching his arms out & cracking his neck. Adam had his back to Ed, so right now Ed had the advantage. He would attack Adam from the back, get him in a headlock, & choke him to death. If that backfired, then he would just fistfight with Adam, one on one. If Ed got lucky, Adam would get shot or stabbed in the process. _

_Edmund smiled to himself secretly as he thought all this through, proud of himself for this accomplishment. He raised his fists as he got close enough to grab Adam, & prepared himself for Adam's struggling & jerking that would probably take place._

_What Edmund didn't prepare himself for was getting stabbed through the back with Saya's long katana. _

_It felt oddly cool as it passed through many of his vital organs, tearing them open mercilessly._

_Edmund's shocked expression was absolutely priceless._


	42. Chapter 42

_Remi's Profile_

_I could see out of the corner of my eye as Edmund sank slowly to the ground, his eyes dulling rapidly as they struggled uselessly to catch mine. I glanced over at him for a split second, just as his knees hit the floor & his eyes completely lost their shine, losing their contact with mine. I saw all this, but I couldn't comprehend anything other than Adam's strikes to my fast-weakening body. _

_I turned back to Adam & blocked another swift aim to my bleeding shoulder with his sword, missing by inches. I stabbed my ninjato toward his heart, & he flipped back two times, throwing some star shuriken at me. I dodged, firing a few rounds with my .45 at Adam. He blocked, advancing toward me quickly. Vincent fired a few shots at Adam to slow him down, but Adam barely broke stride. I hissed frustratedly._

_Saya came up behind Adam then, her katana raised above her head, its blade facing the back of Adam's head. To keep him occupied, Haji & Vincent fought with him, with Vincent firing gunshots at him occasionally, Haji throwing his daggers constantly._

_Adam blocked skillfully, still attempting to get to me. I stood as far back as I could manage without bumping into anyone, waiting for him to attack. I was the bait to draw the rat out, & Saya was the trap that would snap its neck. The perfect ambush._

_When Adam came to be just a few feet in front of me, Saya attacked. Vincent jumped back as well as Haji, both of them landing on either side of me. Vincent continued shooting, but Haji just watched as Saya brought her katana down on Adam's head._

_There was a sickening squelching sound, & then Adam was covered in blood, barely recognizable. He was dead within mere seconds._

_Vincent, Haji, Saya, & I were completely frozen for a minute, disbelieving that he was...dead. We just stared at what was left of him, oblivious to the events occurring around us._

_I was the first one out of it. I glanced over to where Tsukangi was, quickly sprinting toward the exit, its door knocked down from the guards who had just recently poured out of it. Currently, there were barely fifteen if his guards left._

_Wait, no, thirteen._

_Hang tight. Now there's eight._

_...Six._

_I was in front of Tsukangi in a second, Saya, Haji, & Vincent following me closely. Tsukangi had to dig his heels in the ground & lean backwards to avoid the sharp blade of my ninjato, which I was holding straight out at him in hopes of him running into it. When he realized that he was surrounded, he stood up straight & brought his arms to his sides._

_"Remi, how about another one-on-one...?" Tsukangi asked quietly, staring into my bright red eyes. I let out a sharp grunt that resembled closely to a harsh laugh._

_"No." I growled, glaring swords into Tsukangi's eyes. His grin only infuriated me more._

_"Oh, you're scared, are you? That's a major wound to your pride, isn't it?" he laughed, & I let out a low but threatening growl._

_"I don't care how you're finished, as long as your end comes now." I hissed, & he grinned._

_"Well, what other way to do it then by yourself?" he said coyly. I let out a disgusted sound, looking away. I couldn't believe I was about to do this._

_"Fine. But your death will come." I whispered in an angry tone. He snorted._

_"Easier said than done."_

_By this time, the guards that had formally filled Tsukangi's hideout were all eliminated. Everyone excluding Tsukangi & me were to my right (Tsukangi's left), watching us intently. Vincent was the closest to me, & the farthest away from the group. He was probably ready to maul Tsukangi if something happened to his disliking._

_Tsukangi & I stood facing each other, his katana raised halfway to his chest, his knuckles whitening from how tight his grip was on the katana. He knew his ending was in his near future, & he was ready to take as many people as he could down with him._

_My ninjato was raised fully to my chest in my right hand, my gun at my side in my left. I could feel the ninjato quivering slightly, & I'm pretty sure, by Tsukangi's grin, that he could see it. I grit my teeth tightly, willing myself to stop shivering. 'It's just cold...'_

_Tsukangi took the first step forward, finally raising his katana to full height. I braced myself as he ran at me, ready for the clash of our weapons._

_Instead of the screech of metal on metal, though, I heard a sudden sharp intake of breath, & a few unsettled gasps & shuffles from the audience._

_I pulled myself out of the unfocused state I was in, & realized that, for the second time this week, my neck was inches away from a sharp weapon. Though, this time it was a katana, not a kunai. _

_"Fuck." I muttered angrily, & the katana pressed ever harder on my neck. I shut my eyes, cursing._

_"Remi!" Saya gasped, taking a step forward. She was stopped, though, when Tsukangi's voice barked at her._

_"If you want her to live, you all will stay in your places."_

_I immediately objected to this, my eyes shooting open. "No-!" _

_I was cut off when Tsukangi's hand wrapped around my throat, choking off the words that were still sizzling angrily on my tongue. I winced, but otherwise kept my composure. I saw Vincent take a step forward, staring intently into my eyes. I could tell as if it were plain as day that he was going to attack Tsukangi. I guess Tsukangi could tell, too, because he tightened his grip on my neck._

_I couldn't breathe._

_Vincent knew._

_I winced again, & hoped to god that Rachel was listening._

_'Rachel? Dammit, Rachel, you had better be listening to me!' I thought loudly._

_'Don't you want your privacy...? I mean, your thoughts are the most private thing that you can have.' I could hear the sarcasm in her voice. _

_I ignored her. 'Tell Vincent to attack. Tell him that I tell him to attack. Now.'_

_I heard he snort in her mind. 'Bossy, bossy...'_

_I waited five seconds until I asked Rachel again._

_'Are you telling him? Are you telling him? Are-'_

_'Yes! I told him! Now shut up & pay attention!' she hissed through her mind, annoyed._

_I brought my eyes over to Vincent swiftly, staring at him. His eyes bore holes into mine, but I didn't back down. Finally, I noticed him nod minutely, & then disappear in a blur._

_Tsukangi didn't know what hit him until he was on the floor with Vincent's knee jabbing painfully into his gut & his hands wrapped around his throat. I was knocked to the ground forcefully, & my head hit the ground hard. _

_I could feel my consciousness slipping quickly, so I took a fast glance over at Vincent & Tsukangi. I grimaced at the situation._

_Tsukangi had just grabbed a hold of his katana that had previously flew out of his hand when he was knocked over, & was bringing it fast toward Vincent's unprotected back. I cursed, & forced myself onto my hands & knees. I had to get in between of Vincent & that damn katana._

_You know how people sometimes say that when things seem to slow down in situations like this? _

_Well, they're wrong. _

_They speed up, like, double time. Like you're watching a movie fast-forwarded while on speed._

_I pushed myself onto my feet with my hands & positioned myself into a runners crouch. Just as a grin spread across Tsukangi's face, I had taken off, running at the two laying on the ground. Vincent's hands tightened around Tsukangi's neck, choking him, & Tsukangi's final grin seemed to grow impossibly further as his death began overtaking him. _

_The katana was rushing at Vincent full speed, & I saw Vincent's head whip up in my direction when I let out an unintelligible yell. I felt my body propel forward, taking hold of the sharp katana when it became centimeters away from instantly killing Vincent. The tip of it ripped a hole in Vincent's cloak as I pulled it toward my overworked body._

_I felt the katana immediately break skin as I gripped the blade tightly, continuing to wrap my whole body around it to block it from anyone but me._

_As I pulled the katana to my chest, I felt Tsukangi's grip on the katana lessen greatly, & I began falling to the ground. The tip of the katana's blade cut across my cheek, & I felt the blade dig deeper into the palms of my hands while I pulled it tighter to my chest, creating a large gash across my chest & stomach. I felt the hot, sticky liquid start soaking my clothing._

_& then I hit the ground._

_The impact was so forceful that I felt my blood bubble up my throat & choke off my air pipe. I coughed out, blood splattering on the concrete ground as I skidded to a slow stop against the opposing wall. When I hit the wall, I hit my head again, just as hard as I did the first time. Though, instead of fighting the darkness invading my eyesight, I welcomed it with open arms._

_The very last things that I was aware of were the yells of my friends, the blood teeming around my head & torso, & a cool hand holding my burning face._

_"Remi?" I heard Vincent whisper frantically as his bare hand gently wiped away random blood spots from my face uselessly, & his metal hand take hold of a fistful of my silk gown. I felt his hot breath tickle my paling cheek lightly, & I inhaled one last time, smelling Vincent's sophisticated cologne. I couldn't help but smile as the darkness enveloped my senses completely._

_"Remi?!" _


	43. Chapter 43

_I was unconscious, that much I knew._

_I was unconscious, & I was floating around in what looked & felt like some black, cold, nearly transparent liquid. I was completely consumed in it, from my head to my toes, & I found that I couldn't breathe. I struggled to swim to the top, but I couldn't tell if I was moving or not; the water was pitch black._

_My lungs burned for air, & I opened my mouth against my will. The liquid immediately poured in through my mouth, & I let out a muffled scream. I choked, my eyes wild with panic. I continued trying to swim to the surface of this odd body of liquid, but I soon gave up, too weak to continue & filled with despair as my determined mind began slipping away. _

_I felt my lungs lose what air had been left in them, & my eyes slowly slid closed, the liquid washing away my terrified tears that managed to squeeze through my eyelids. My consciousness began disappearing for the second time today..._

_& then a brilliant light shone through the liquid, turning it a light, transparent blue. My eyes shot open the moment the light touched my eyelids, & I located the source at once; sunlight._

_I fought hard against the liquid, filled with a new, sharp determination. It was so close, yet so far away..._

_It seemed as if the liquid was constantly filling up, the sunlight seeming farther & farther away. I let out a strangled moan as I finally stopped fighting against the liquid & let myself sink farther down into the liquid. My lungs screamed for oxygen, but I had already surrendered it all to the liquid surrounding me. I let out a choked cough, letting my eyes slide closed again._

_"Remi, Remi, open your eyes! Look at me...!" said a familiar voice. _

_I allowed my eyes to reopen a few centimeters, just to see who would be calling me in my final death dream._

_I choked yet again on the liquid invading my lungs._

_Edmund stood to my left, his left arm outstretched toward me, beckoning me to grab hold of it._

_"I'll help you up." he whispered kindly, his smile as bright as the sun above us. I didn't understand how he could speak so clearly through the liquid that had just recently choked me off from ever speaking._

_I reached up toward Edmund's waiting hand gratefully, not fully understanding why this was happening, but not really caring. He leaned down a few inches to meet my hand halfway, but I was already there. I paused suddenly, though, as another figure appeared spontaneously to my left. I turned my head to meet another very familiar set of eyes, staring down intently at my drowning form._

_"Remi..." Vincent whispered, reaching his mechanical hand out to me, his eyes practically glowing with relief &...happiness?_

_I pulled my hand back down to my chest, not knowing what to do. I looked from Edmund to Vincent a couple of times, trying to understand the meaning of the dream._

_When the burning of my lungs increased enough to catch my attention yet again, I realized the significance of this reverie._

_This was like, a messed up version of whether I was going to survive or not._

_This dream would decide if I would wake up on Mikomi (or wherever) with Vincent, or wind up in the afterlife with Edmund._

_I inhaled sharply, forgetting about the liquid cutting off the oxygen to my lungs. I understood it all now._

_A feeling of both sadness & relief rushed through my body as I made my already-known decision. Another feeling seemed to envelop me as I looked from Vincent to Edmund; Surprise._

_I was surprised to find my burning desire to live so strong. I would have thought, before all of this happened, that dying would be a relief. A large burden off of my shoulders._

_But now, as I face this life-or-death situation, I find that I want to live much more than die._

_Would it have been different for me if instead of Vincent being the beacon of life it was Calvin? Possibly Saya, or Haji? Maybe even Mrs. Jacobs, Rachel, or Alex?_

_Most likely._

_Now, I'm not saying that those few aren't worth living for, I'm just saying that...I think I fell in love with Vincent._

_I've heard from books, TV shows, & pretty much anywhere else that love is what keeps most people alive, especially when they're on the brink of death._

_For example, in the book 'New Moon' by Stephanie Meyer, Bella Swan, the main character, is broken hearted from a recent breakup with Edward, who was her long time sweet heart & lover. Jacob Black, a friend of Bella's, tries to make her life happier, & succeeds mostly._

_In one part of the book, Bella goes cliff diving alone after she is introduced to it by some local kids in Jacob's neighborhood. Jacob was supposed to be there with her cliff diving, but she decided to do it alone when Jacob was out._

_When she hits the water, she drowns, but is saved by Jacob, who saw her in the water from the forest bordering the ocean._

_Now, Alice Cullen, Edward's sister, can see the near future, & she sees Bella jump, but not her being saved by Jacob. Alice rushes back to Forks, where Bella lives, & discovers the truth._

_Then, about a day later, Alice sees Edward going to Italy to get himself killed. Alice doesn't understand his reasoning until she remembers that she told Rosalie (sister) about her vision of Bella's "death", & realizes that Rose told Edward, who didn't know that Bella was actually alive & alright._

_So, what I'm trying to say is that Edward was only staying alive for one reason; Bella. When Rose told Edward that Bella had supposedly "died", he gave up on his life & rushed to the Volturi (the largest coven of vampires that knows how to kill a vampire quickly & successfully) to get himself killed so he could join Bella. The only thing that kept him alive was a world with Bella in it. He couldn't bear the thought of Bella not being on earth, while he was. If someone else had died, whether it be a friend or family, he wouldn't have run off to kill himself. Bella, being his only love, was the only thing that could keep him alive, no matter what._

_I closed my eyes briefly, attempting to form the words that I would say to Vincent & Edmund, but nothing came to mind. I reopened my eyes, glancing at both of the men in front of me._

_Then I looked straight at Edmund, who was looking back at me intensely. After a moment of silence between us, he nodded knowingly, smiling._

_"I understand." he whispered quietly, sinking into the liquid a few feet. I tried to cry out, but the liquid prevented me from doing so. Edmund's smile faltered on his face for a few seconds, & he choked a bit. I watched in horror as he began drowning, his arms flailing uselessly as he sunk deeper, his smile disappearing with the currents. I watched in desperation as the air bubbles rapidly escaped through Edmund's mouth, then abruptly stop. A shocked noise emitted from my shivering form, & I watched as Edmund sunk into the liquid so far that he became invisible, becoming one with the dark bottom._

_I watched for a couple more seconds, surprised beyond belief. It was only until Vincent spoke that I finally was pried out of my trance-like state._

_"He'll be fine, Remi. He's at peace with himself down there, whether you had gone with him or not." Vincent whispered, & suddenly he was behind me, his arm wrapped securely around my waist. I winced at the thought of Edmund lying at the bottom of this ocean for hundreds of years. I guess Vincent sensed my uneasiness._

_"This is a dream. You know that, right?" he asked, & I nodded._

_"But still..." I muttered. _

_That's when I realized with mild happiness that I could talk & breathe freely, even under all this liquid. I looked up toward the sunlight & noticed that the liquid was lowering quickly, the surface nearing rapidly. I let out a quiet sigh, trying to take this all in without freaking out. I closed my eyes, willing the thought of Edmund to go away. This was a dream, after all._

_"The important question is not if Edmund is okay, Remi. The real question is are _you_ okay?" Vincent asked quietly as the surface of the liquid lightly touched his head & stopped immediately, keeping us both underwater but close enough to jump out if we needed._

_I thought for a moment, looking down toward the darkness of the ocean. I replayed my life over in my head, remembering the ups & downs, the dull times as well as the adrenalin-soaked times. I remembered my childhood, & then my new life. I remembered everything there was to remember, & I didn't flinch or cry out or fall into a pit of depression after thinking about it all. I was still composed & comfortable as I pulled myself out of my thoughts to speak._

_I smiled peacefully & turned to Vincent._

_"Yeah." I whispered quietly, my smile resting undisturbed on my face. I felt the surface of the liquid that had previously surrounded us break over my head, dropping all the way down to my ankles. I could feel the breeze tickle my cheek lightly, the sun warming my bare arms._

_"Yeah, I am."_


	44. Chapter 44

I opened my eyes with a sudden gasp, sitting up immediately. I coughed a few times, the memory of the salty liquid entering my lungs permanently burning in my mind. My desperate gasps slowly began to subside & my previously stinging eyes abated too a somewhat comfortable state. I felt a cool metal hand that had to belong to Vincent rest on my back, supporting my weakened body. It was only then that I came to realize that I was covered in blood. I let out a choked gasp that came out raspy & hoarse. Vincent patted my back lightly as I continued to cough into my hand.

"Aw, shit..." I muttered, groaning. "I really liked this gown..."

There was a moment of silence before Rachel emitted a soft giggle mixed with relief & happiness. Most of the group followed her lead, some laughing more than others. Vincent stayed silent. I sighed inaudibly, then minced when my chest expanded enough to put strain on the serious injuries across my chest. I leaned into Vincent's shoulder, & I felt him tense slightly. He relaxed when I inhaled quietly, smelling his oddly unique cologne.

I felt him shift slightly under my weight.

"Are you..." he trailed off, then asked a completely different question other than what I knew he longed to ask. "Can you stand?" he whispered in my ear, & I could hear the concern nearly dripping from every word.

I let out a strangled, dry laugh, surprising Vincent. "Of course not." I whispered back. Then I winced again, leaning heavily on Vincent. I felt a wave of light-headedness take over my senses for a moment, disabling my ability to speak for a few seconds. I felt Vincent's hand quickly slide under my knees, picking me up bridal style effortlessly. I barely could tell that he was walking other than how everything suddenly was moving.

"We should get home." Vincent said to everyone, walking briskly toward a part of the wall with the largest hole.

"For those who came from other worlds all the way over here to save Remi, I thank you sincerely. If there is any possible way to thank you, I give you my word, I will do it. You may go back to your own worlds, if you wish, or you may stay with us here. It is up to you." Vincent spoke to Cloud's group, Naruto's group, & Saya & Hagi.

"We have to return to Midgar for reasons you understand. Vincent, I hope I will be seeing you & Remi some time in the near future." Cloud said to Vincent, & he nodded. Cloud & his group waved to us quickly, stepping through a different hole opposite to ours. I barely managed to return the wave before they all disappeared through the hole.

Kakashi came up to Vincent, & they nodded to each other.

"We're glad that we could help." Kakashi said to us seriously, & I nodded to him. He grinned at me through him mask, & then touched my shoulder lightly.

"We're happy to see you alive, Remi." Kakashi said to me sincerely, & I inhaled quietly. "Hope to see you soon." Kakashi whispered to both of us, then disappeared from my view., along with Naruto & Sakura.

I shut my eyes & sighed, waiting for Saya & Hagi to say their goodbyes.

To my pleasant surprise, though, I heard Saya say from behind Vincent defiantly, "We're going to stay. Atleast, until Remi can stand."

I turned my head in Saya's direction to find her grinning happily at me. I nodded at her.

"Thanks." I whispered. We held eye contact for a second, then I turned away. Black spots invaded my eyesight for a frightening moment.

"Vincent-" I said alertly, my heartbeat speeding up.

"You're fine, just exhausted. Go to sleep." he whispered, closer to my face than I expected. I closed my eyes, relaxing.

"Sounds...good..." I mumbled, my consciousness slipping from my grasp yet again.

After what seemed like years of floating in comfortable darkness, I felt myself begin slowly waking up. I could feel my aching body for the first time, the pain shooting bullets up & down my spine with every breath I took. I flinched after a particularly painful pinch in my chest, squinting in the sunlight that poured through the pure white blinds on my right.

The light was soon blocked out by a figure sitting right next to me as it shifted toward me, leaning closer to my face.

"Remi? Are you awake?" whispered Vincent, his voice quiet & laced with exhaustion. He must have stayed awake for the whole time I was out.

I nodded, biting back the pain of a budding migraine. He must have noticed my obvious discomfort, because I felt his hand brush lightly across my forehead, moving my hair out of my face. "Do you want some aspirin?" he asked quietly, letting his hand rest softly against my forehead. I closed my eyes, focusing only on the feeling of his touch.

"Mmhmm..." I mumbled in agreement, but instead of him removing his hand to get the aspirin, I felt his hand cup my face lightly. I leaned into the palm of his hand, enjoying the cool skin pressing against my warm face. I had the strange wanting to have his hand always be there, or anywhere else...

I felt Vincent's hand remove itself from my face a moment later, & I barely hid my disappointment as I reopened my eyes. I found that he was standing up, walking toward the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked him. He avoided contact with my eyes when her replied.

"Getting aspirin." he said simply, & he disappeared out the door, only to reappear a moment later with two pills in his hand & a glass of water.

I took the aspirin in one gulp & drank the rest of the water in seconds. I took in a deep breath, leaning back in the pillows.

"Thanks." I said gratefully to Vincent, & he nodded, not looking at me.

"Where exactly are we, Vincent?" I asked when I glanced around the room.

The walls were a dark gray, the only thing light colored being the blinds. There was a small comfy chair in the corner, & a metal foldable chair next to the bed I was laying in. The bed was a dark shade of red, the pillows the color of ox blood.

"We are in my apartment." he replied, & I looked over at him immediately.

"Your apartment?" I asked, surprised. He nodded sheepishly. I sat up, taking a second look of the room.

"In...Mikomi?" I asked, & he shook his head.

"Earth." he muttered, risking a glance at me, then looked away quickly. "Why-Do you not like it?"

I shook my head in shock. "No- I mean, yes- Er...You apartment is absolutely fine, Vincent, it's just..." I trailed off, looking around the room again. I saw out of my peripheral vision that Vincent had turned to me, looking at me intently.

"What?" he asked quietly, as if this were a deadly serious topic. As if he were truly concerned of what I felt about his place.

"I've just never been here before..." I whispered, bringing my gaze back to him. We held eye contact for what seemed like forever, but he broke it, looking toward the door.

"I never thought of showing it to you; Sorry." he muttered, looking embarrassed. He turned his body toward the door, as if he was about to leave.

"You should really get some sleep; You are more injured than you look." he said to me, then promptly disappeared out the door, leaving me, for once, staring after him.

On the fifth day after defeating Tsukangi, I managed to get out of bed & walk around without anyone's help. Of course, I was almost always shadowed by Saya-neechan, who was always at least two feet away from me, ready to assist if needed. She reminded me of Vincent & Hagi in a way; kind of stalker-like.

"Oh! Let me get that for you!" Saya exclaimed for the tenth time that day as I reached for a bowl in the cabinet above me. She quickly reached up above my head, pulling down a transparent glass bowl for me to fill with a large amount of Applejacks.

"Thanks..." I sighed, rubbing my temples in annoyance. Saya gasped.

"I'll get the aspirin!" she proclaimed, disappearing into a different room before I could oppose.

"Ugh." I grunted, ambling feebly toward the fridge for the milk. This had been going on all day, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. I groaned at the thought of Saya's overly helpful assistance being an everyday thing for the next few days.

Saya reappeared in the kitchen next to me, grabbing a glass of water & ripping open a box of aspirin, leaving the cardboard remnants on the kitchen counter to be picked up by someone other than us.

"Here! Feel better!" she said, smiling as she offered the pills & water for me. I reluctantly grasped the water, taking a mouthful & dropping the pills quickly in my mouth, swallowing. Saya smiled expectantly at my twitching form.

"Thanks, Saya-chan..." I muttered with false-gratitude, going back to my cereal.

"No problem!" she grinned, resuming her post at two & a half feet behind me.

"So, when are you planning to go home? I mean, you said that you were planning to leave when I could walk..." I trailed off, not wanting to sound itoo/i curious. She was oblivious to my subtle hints.

"Oh, well, I don't know! Maybe when you're fully healed...?" she said, ending as if it were a question. I inwardly groaned. That would take imonths/i.

"Well, what about your friends back in Japan? I bet they miss you a lot..." I tried, & she seemed to consider it.

"Yeah, I guess they do..." she trailed off, a thoughtful expression crossing her face.

I chomped quietly on my bowl of Applejacks as I patiently waited for her to come to a decision.

When I was nearly done with my bowl of deliciousness, Saya finally came to a decision.

"Well, I guess...since you seem fine, & all...We'll go back to Japan on Saturday." she spoke slowly, as if she were still thinking about it. I nodded it understanding, but on the inside, I was having a party.

This Saturday? That's tomorrow! Hell yes!

"Well, I'd better start packing, & tell Hagi, too." Saya said, smiling lightly & disappearing out the kitchen door. I allowed myself one happy 'Yus!' to escape my mouth, & then proceeded to rinse out my bowl.

I stretched & yawned loudly, ignoring the dull pain pulsing rhythmically all over my body. I continued to the living room, where I found Vincent sitting on the couch. I stopped in surprise, for this was one of the first times I had seen him since the first day in his apartment.

He glanced up at me, then stood quickly, nodding at me.

"Sorry." he muttered, backing away slowly, then turning around toward the door to his bedroom. I rushed over to him, grabbing the wrist part of his metal hand.

"Wait." I pleaded, pulling back on his wrist. He stopped & turned the side of his face to me. I flinched at his unemotional expression for he first time, which shows how much I've changed after the whole thing.

I tried to hide my wince, but Vincent had seen it, & had already spun around to face me.

"Sorry." he whispered again, this time with more feeling. He placed his bare hand lightly on the side of my face. I pulled away, shaking my head.

"No, I'm sorry." I muttered, & I saw the puzzled look flash across Vincent's face before it went unemotional again.

I sighed, then continued. "I've changed...a lot, I think. Ever since Tsukangi was killed, & we found out that Orochimaru was killed my Sasuke just a few days ago, I've discovered that...my human emotions have been making a comeback. I mean, I've been experiencing more...feelings than I've ever had since my younger self. Happiness, respect, boredom...love. Just about everything. & I'm even becoming humanly aware of pain...Before everything happened, I ignored any type of pain so much that I probably could have cut myself & couldn't have cared less.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that, I'm wishing...or, hoping...or whatever, that you might...or could...change along with me." I mumbled out the ending, feeling my cheeks warm considerably as a blush invaded my face. I avoided looking at Vincent, who seemed to be staring at me with such intensity that he was boring holes in my own eyes.

Then, out of nowhere, I felt his bare hand take hold of my chin & bring it toward him swiftly but slowly at the same time, & before I could have realized what was happening, I felt a pair of soft lips land lightly onto mine.

It was a very timid kiss, but still. My eyes were wide open for the beginning, studying Vincent's face. Then I closed my eyes slowly, taking in what was happening. I brought my arms around his neck, & I felt his own arms rest lightly on my waist.

Sometime in the middle of the kiss, it got much deeper. My right hand was softly tracing circles on the side of his face, while the other was deep in his hair. His metal hand was secured on my waist, while his other was on my back, pulling me ever closer to his body.

The kiss was ended sooner than I wanted, but after that, I knew I would be able to do it again.

We pulled away slightly, me still in his arms & my arms locked around his neck. We looked at each other for a long moment, both of us unlocking our hearts to each other with a simple look.

I let out a quiet breath, & Vincent did the same. I opened my mouth to stutter out a few unintelligible words when I heard someone enter the room in the background. Neither Vincent nor I turned to see who it was.

After a second of silence, Saya, the mysterious bystander, broke it.

"Well, finally." Saya said loudly, giggling softly & calling everyone else in the apartment.

I turned my head toward Saya, who smiled & winked in my direction. I didn't know what else to do other than turn back to Vincent, which I eventually did. I found Vincent staring back at me with an amused expression on his face.

& as the group of my seventh & eighth graders poured into the room along with their teacher, I couldn't help but smile satisfactorily at Vincent. His amused expression brightened significantly more, & leaned over to kiss me lightly on the lips.

"Are you happy?" he asked me quietly, & I smiled wider.

"Of course I am." I replied, kissing him back on the lips, & then on his forehead. I leaned myself into his chest, & he wrapped his arms tighter around my body.

& you know what? I really was happy.

I really, really was.

The End

(Epilogue coming soon!)


	45. Epilogue

_Mrs. Jacob's Profile_

_I groaned as I stood & stretched, finally finished with this quarter's year 2021 report cards. My class had done exceptionally well, & I was proud of them. Plus, they would be my very last class, due to my retirement being this year._

_I sat back down in the computer chair I was previously sitting in, & absentmindedly began spinning childishly around in it as I lost myself in deep thought. I sighed quietly, remembering all the major events that had ever happened to me in the past years at my job._

_As my mind flipped from thought to thought, not really paying attention, I missed the fact that a young female, about the age of 13, had suddenly appeared next to my zoned-out figure. She stood as silently as a tree, watching in amusement as I revolved around & around in my favorite chair. _

_After three minutes of patiently waiting for me to notice her, she had enough. She leaned over & took hold of one of the plastic arms on the chair & halted my chair immediately. Jerked out of my reverie, I looked up, shocked to find her centimeters away from my face, grinning toothily._

_"Hi!" she said, lifting her hand in greeting. I said nothing, still trying to take in the fact that she was talking to me._

_"I'm Mikazuki!" she continued, letting go of the armrest & standing straighter. I realized that I was leaning back pretty far in my chair, so I sat up quickly, fearing that this girl might take that offensively. She was oblivious, fortunately, as she stood expectantly, a bright smile lighting up her pretty face._

_"Mikazuki...?" I asked, wanting a last name._

_"Valentine. Mikazuki Valentine." she said, smiling. "Are you familiar with the name?" she asked, a mysterious, mischievous underlying tone in her voice. I raised my eyebrows, recognizing her last name. I took a second look at this girl, noticing the familiar features that I hadn't noticed before._

_She was about twelve, thirteen at the most. Her light black hair hung to her about her shoulders, & shone sleekly against the soft sunlight pouring in from the window next to us. I stared at her eyes for a moment, noticing how they shifted color slightly, from a deep yellow to a lighter, closer to white kind of yellow. Then they darkened to a blackish yellow, with a tint of pink. I watched as she began to fidget with the bottom of her sweater, waiting for me to answer._

_I inhaled slowly, then spoke. "Why, exactly, are you here?"_

_Her eyes shifted to a yellowish green as she raised her eyebrows. "Oh! I was just curious..." she trailed off, & I raised my eyebrow._

_"Curious...?" I prompted after a second._

_"About the humans that my mum are 'acquainted' with, or so she says." Mikazuki rolled her eyes, grinning._

_Then she froze, the smirk sliding off her face. She spun around in her spot, narrowing her eyes at the door._

_"Oh, shit." she muttered, backing into the wall. I stood up. _

_"What is it?" I asked alertly, but she ignored me, her eyes fixed on the door. _

_Then suddenly, a blur of something darted into the room, heading straight at Mikazuki. I cried out in surprise, & jumped back as the thing raced up to Mikazuki. To my immense puzzlement, though, Mikazuki suddenly began giggling. & what was even more surprising was what the attacker was doing._

_Mikazuki bent over, holding her sides in laughter. The 'attacker' seemed to be tickling the young girl to the point where she couldn't speak other than a few unintelligible stutters. It wasn't until a second person stepped into the room that I began to understand._

_Vincent nodded his head in acknowledgement at me as he stood in the doorway, arms crossed, watching the two females in their tickle war. I smiled softly in understanding, waiting patiently as the girls continued their war._

_After a few more minutes of their playful tickling, they stood & brushed themselves off. Remi faced me first._

_"Good afternoon Mrs. Jacobs! It's been awhile, hasn't it?" she smiled at me, her grin lighting up her features. I nodded, & she continued. "I hope Mika-chan hasn't caused you any trouble." _

_I grinned back at her. "No worries. She was just fine. Just...curious." I finished, using her word. She beamed at me, & I gave her a small smile back. _

_I turned toward Vincent. "It's nice to see you, too, Vincent." I said, nodding politely. He nodded back. "& the same to you." he said quietly to me._

_"Mika-chan, are you ready to go?" Remi asked her daughter, who nodded exuberantly. "Yus!" she exclaimed, marching out the door. I laughed along with Remi while Vincent gave a little smile. _

_I faced Remi & asked, "How have you guys been?"_

_She smiled happily at me & replied, "Excellent. We're...really happy."_

_I looked over at Vincent who smiled minutely at me. I smiled._

_"That's great." I said, & they nodded._

_Remi crossed the room to Vincent, who wrapped his arm around Remi's waist. I smiled wider._

_"I guess...I'll see you guys around?" I asked, tilting my head. Remi nodded._

_"We'll stop by once in awhile." Remi replied._

_"Unexpectedly, of course." Vincent added, & Remi laughed._

_It was silent for an awkward moment, but then I let out a nervous giggle, followed by Remi._

_"Well, see you." Remi waved, along with Vincent. I smiled, returning the wave. Then they were gone._

_& then I realized that out of all the years I've been teaching, it wasn't the school year 2007-08 that I loved the most; it was this year. Especially this year._

_I smiled to myself as I sat down in my revolving computer chair, pushing off the ground & spinning slowly in it once again. But this time, I didn't let my mind wander. No, I attempted to do something that I hadn't done in years. _

_I let out a breath, then spoke._

_"Myrtille tarte. (Blueberry pie - French)" I muttered, then allowed my eyes to flutter open in surprise. Yes! I can still do it!_

_"Yatta!" I yelled in defiance, my arms shooting up in the air._

_"Um, Sherri? What the hell are you doing?" a voice came from the doorway, & when my chair revolved around to have me facing the door, I discovered Ms. Bendig, the assistant principal, staring at me oddly. _

_& as the chair continued to spin around & around in place, I remembered the exact reason why I stopped using my ability in the first place._

_**-Finir-**_


End file.
